I love to watch fireflies in the trees behind my house at night. They make the poplars and oaks look like Christmas trees in the middle of summer.

I remember chasing fireflies late into the summer evening as a kid. We would catch them in Mason jars and “keep” them. I remember being fascinated to see them light up as if by magic when I held them in my hand. My friends and I would punch holes in the canning jar lid so the fireflies could breathe…at least for a while. Of course, we usually used a nail to punch the holes and it was always big enough for the fireflies to climb out when we turned our backs. Later, at a store, I saw plastic Lightning Bug jars for sale and a really gross Lightning Bug Ring where you were supposed to pull the glowing portion off of the beetle and place it on your finger. I hope that never caught on.

I was more astounded later in life to learn that the part of the beetle that made it special was a chemical reaction and the light was cold; my first exposure to natural phosphorescence. It is probably how fireflies communicate and seek mates and such. I would think lighting up at night would be a bad thing for the bugs, but they seem to survive and thrive anyway.

A few nights ago, after a storm blew through, I was sitting on the patio watching fireflies and thinking about summer days from 40 years ago. I said something about them and my wife’s immediate reply was “lightning bugs.” Hmmmm. I’m smart enough not to argue about that one.

Frankly I use both terms, but I thought it was interesting that she used lightning bugs even though we both grew up in the Kanawha Valley at approximately the same time.

An informal poll on Facebook yielded that my friends refer to them as lightning bugs by a ratio of 5:1. It turns out Jason Katz, a researcher at NC State University, wondered about the same thing and surveyed 10,000 people to create a series of interactive Dialect Survey Maps. It shows that Appalachia in general uses Lightning Bug while surrounding areas use the terms interchangeably. Firefly shows up in the west and for some odd reason in the far eastern end of New York state.

I’m still trying to figure out where I picked up “firefly”. Definitely not the first time I’ve been the odd man out in my life thought, so I’ll probably get over it. One Facebook friend noted that firefly sounds more “poetic”.

Regardless of what you call them, lightning bugs or fireflies, they are one more oddity in a long list of nature’s best. And they are fun to watch in the late evening when the sun is going down..

Friday is the Fourth of July, the day we honor the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Today, however, is the anniversary of when the Continental Congress actually voted for independence from Great Britain. It took them two more days to agree on the wording of the Declaration of Independence and sign it. At that time, the war had been going on for more than a year and it wouldn’t end until 1783 when the last British troops left New York City.

I wrote this last week. I have no idea how the US Men’s National Team (Soccer, Futbol) played yesterday against Belgium in the “Sweet Sixteen” of the World Cup. I hope we won yesterday, but if we didn’t it was still a tremendous run. I also just read an opinion piece by a national columnist who said that the rising popularity of soccer in this country is a sign of our “moral decay”. If you don’t believe me, Google it. I read the entire column thinking it was satire and waiting for the punchline. It never came.

I’m not sure what that columnist was looking at, but watching the game in Recife (and earlier ones in Natal and Manaus) I saw Americans supporting our team in droves. FIFA sold more tickets to Americans than any other country except for Brazil. Our fans were painted from head-to-toe in Red, White and Blue. They wore clothes, bikinis, hats and costumes made to resemble our national flag. I saw Captain America, Bat Man, Wonder Woman and Superman at games.

There is no question our country is struggling right now. We are more polarized than we’ve been in years, but through the lens of time we forget those rough patches. Even at times when we were all pulling together for a common purpose, things weren’t always rosy. I was shocked to learn recently that there were literally hundreds of work-stoppages and labor strikes during World War II. We have endured political scandals, unpopular presidents and divisive periods. Most people think of the 1950s as a golden era for the United States, thanks to “Happy Days”, but they forget about racial segregation and the Korean War among other things.

We like to think of ourselves as scrappy, come-from-behind, never-say-die people. When things get hardest, that is when Americans are at our best. And that is when we stand up for our country and support each other. So, on this Second of July, think about what makes America a great place to live and celebrate it. I don’t see “moral decay”. I see Americans who care for our country and want to keep it the best place in the world..

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how as a family we were trying to eat better and take better care of ourselves. I’ve also written several times about trying to shop local and patronize American products because it makes sense.

So, imagine my surprise when my wife brought it to my attention that the frozen catfish I bought locally at the largest grocery store chain in the area says “A Product of China” on the package. You have to look hard to find it; they aren’t exactly trumpeting this, but it is right there on the back. Catfish from China? Really? Catfish? I couldn’t believe it.

It turns out, that’s not an uncommon practice. The fish isn’t from China (I don’t think), but we send it there for Chinese workers to process it and then they send back. I still have a little bit in my freezer, but once that is done, it will be the last I eat it.

I have nothing against China directly and would really like to travel there. The culture and history there is amazing to me. On the other side of the coin, they have deplorable records on environmental and safety controls. Earlier this year, the smog and smoke in the air there made it nearly impossible to breathe in about one third of the country. Our own FDA has warned pet owners not to feed pet jerky treats from China to their furry friends, yet that same FDA allows Chinese companies to process our food. And it’s not just fish. The FDA is about to allow chicken to be processed in China as well.  Even worse there will be no required labels for chicken processed in China when it is used in soup or nuggets or any other place you find chicken. And there won’t be inspectors present, either, to make sure the meat is processed to American standards.

It is simply amazing to me that the greatest country in the world and one of the largest economies in the world would allow our food supply to be farmed out to a country with sub-standard records on just about everything.

As a fiction writer, I think of worst-case scenarios that could put people in danger. Usually, then, the hero comes in and saves the day. How hard would it be for a pathogen of some sort to be placed into several million pounds of chicken nuggets and then distributed throughout the United States sickening children in every state? And I’m not making this story up.

January’s chemical spill and water crisis taught us a basic lesson that we need to jealously guard our basic infrastructure. If we don’t, we can get in trouble very quickly..

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column, “‘Look up’ and live your life”, about our dependence on electronic gizmos. My brother refers to them as “MoMos.” They are gizMOs that make us MOrons. The column was partially inspired by a YouTube video called “Look Up”. I was talking about how too many of us (me, included) spend too much time with our faces in phones and tablets and laptops and miss life going on around us. We concentrate on social media, and forget to be social.

Shortly after that column ran in the paper, I got a note from a reader whose mother had written a poem strikingly similar to my column. Madeline “Happy” H. King of St. Albans, WV is 84 and I’m sure has lived a long and full life. I doubt every moment of her life has been happy, in spite of her nickname, but she understands that it is important for all of us to be present in our lives. After reading the poem, I decided to share it with everyone.

Enjoy Your Life

-Madeline “Happy” H. King of St. Albans, WV.

A few days ago, my wife and I were out running errands, in and out of various stores around town – the highlight of my week. Going into one, we noticed a sign saying something about Father’s Day. I stumbled for a moment, realizing that I had forgotten that Father’s Day was coming up. I mean, I AM a father and I am lucky enough to still have my father with me as well. It made me start wondering why Father’s Day seems to get short shrift compared to Mother’s Day.

While the “first” Father’s Day was celebrated as early as 1910, it didn’t become a National Holiday in the United States until 1972 when President Nixon signed a bill into law. In contrast, Mother’s Day was made a national holiday in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson. Somewhat ironically, Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia (the founder of Mother’s Day) hated what that holiday became and fought against its commercialization the rest of her life. My guess is she would probably approve of the lower key recognition of Father’s Day, but I digress.

When my wife asked what I wanted for Father’s Day, should the girls ask, I really had no clue. I’m guessing most fathers would be in the same spot. Most of us don’t really think about ourselves first. As long as our families have what they need, we don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about wants. Or when we do, it tends to be “larger” items like that new big(ger) screen television or a new camera lens. We don’t think small. With no middle ground, our families are usually left with little recourse but to skip getting a present all together or to pick something completely inconsequential. For the record, if my family is reading this, I work from home. I don’t need ties…

I can’t speak for all fathers, and will probably get some grief from someone who was looking forward to the latest tie for the collection, just tell us Happy Father’s Day. Say thank you. Ask our advice about something. We love that. Hang out for a little bit. That’s really all I (we) want. If you want to take us out to dinner, that’s fine, too.

Unless, of course, you want to spring for that new telephoto zoom lens…

And to all you fathers out there, and especially mine, Happy Father’s Day!.