Night Light
We live on a country road that has had street lights only since a little over twenty years ago. Before that, when we used to come on vacation, the summer nights would be luminous only with the stars and the moon. And the fireflies.
I remember sitting out on the porch at night, looking up at the millions of stars and the swath of the Milky Way we used to be able to see. The first time I saw the fireflies it appeared as if a little star had fallen in the grass. I remember how excited I was to see my first firefly. After that I would watch most nights. And I discovered there were more than one, but not as many as my parents said there used to be when they were young.
But now they seem to have disappeared. I think my daughter has only seen them once. At night now we can barely see the stars unless we look out our back windows toward the dark hill behind the house. We have a street light right next to our house. There is no danger of a thief breaking in under that harsh light. But there also seems to be no danger of seeing a little nocturnal animal that has become the stuff of fairytale.
What price progress?
I remember sitting out on the porch at night, looking up at the millions of stars and the swath of the Milky Way we used to be able to see. The first time I saw the fireflies it appeared as if a little star had fallen in the grass. I remember how excited I was to see my first firefly. After that I would watch most nights. And I discovered there were more than one, but not as many as my parents said there used to be when they were young.
But now they seem to have disappeared. I think my daughter has only seen them once. At night now we can barely see the stars unless we look out our back windows toward the dark hill behind the house. We have a street light right next to our house. There is no danger of a thief breaking in under that harsh light. But there also seems to be no danger of seeing a little nocturnal animal that has become the stuff of fairytale.
What price progress?
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