Sparklers are still legal in some states; you can buy them at the supermarket. Late at night, at a bonfire by a lake, we lit them—tiny handheld fireworks—and shrieked and flailed our arms. It looked as though we were waving pom-poms, cheering the moon.
When the sparks ran out, everyone except the seven-year-old, who was chasing a goose, sat on lawn chairs to read by the light of the fire. The eleven-year-old was reading a book of jokes. (He and I like to read out loud.)
Jill Lepore’s fireside chat: http://nyr.kr/P3lzgy
