Four Years Old

I was only four years old when Nixon resigned.
And the Vietnam War raged on half a world away.
For me, it was the summer after kindergarten.
I never knew anything going on.
Life was Sesame Street and summer camp.
A tire swing in the willow tree.
Catching fireflies in the evening so they’d flash in a jar all night long.
An AMC Pacer in the driveway.
Big Wheels in a bin by the garage.
We couldn’t ride them in the street.
We turned them upside-down on the sidewalk, worked the pedals, and spun the big wheel.
All summer long.