It’s hard to fathom that young people today mark the passage of time in their lives as “pre-Columbine” or “post-Sandy Hook” - as in the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings - although you don’t really have to mention the “shooting” part. Today, my granddaughter can never have that sort of freedom.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesĪbout 1 in 5 high school students have witnessed community violence, new CDC report says Students marched to mark the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting and to demand that Congress pass 'common sense gun violence prevention legislation'. Capitol to protest against the National Rifle Association and to call for stricter gun laws Apin Washington, DC. WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Several hundred high school students from the Washington area observe 19 minutes of silence while rallying in front of the White House before marching to the U.S. Never once did we eye the exit out of fear that someone with an AR-15 would start shooting. Summers also meant catching lightning bugs in a mayonnaise jar, eating cold watermelon and spitting out the seeds, and cranking peach ice cream by hand.Īnd to cool off, we bought tickets to the movies because the Belle Meade Theatre was air-conditioned. My two sisters and I once staged an ice cream parlor at home, and the neighborhood kids sat at our kitchen counter, and while I built the banana splits, one sister took the orders and the other took the money. Now, with each mass shooting event at a graduation - or Juneteenth event or music festival or pro sports championship celebration or Sweet 16 birthday party - it becomes increasingly clear that we have veered further away than ever from the innocence and tranquility of bygone days. And in an era before cell phones, if your mother wanted you to come home, the announcer called your name on the pool’s loudspeaker, broadcasting to the entire world that your mom was looking for you, and everybody had a good laugh. Maybe you spent a few lazy hours hanging out at the pool.

In blissful summers gone by, if you had absolutely nothing to do, you made something up. I miss the world I knew before mass shootings, when mingling in a crowd during the months of June, July and August meant backyard burgers on a languorous summer afternoon.

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