Starting this week, the District’s school-children and their teachers will take an extended break from each other. And just as much as we fondly remember that joyous feeling of not having to face a day of schooling for two full months, we now dread that very prospect. Why? Kids out late on weeknights spell trouble.

Beyond the usual trouble that no school and warm weather tends to breed, In Shaw brings us news of something we suffered all too often last year — firecrackers. They write:

‘Tis the season for firecrackers. During this time you can try to train your ear to tell the difference between gunfire and firecrackers. Or you can be like me and say they are all firecrackers. Luckily (knocking on wood products) I haven’t seen a lot of firework stands. Yet.
The firecracker noise will continue from now till about mid August. I don’t remember what the rules are regarding the District and firecrackers.

Well, while some fireworks are fair game, firecrackers are illegal in the District. That’s not to say that the kids don’t get their hands on them, of course. And we feel your pain, In Shaw. In parts of town where gun-related violence occurs, firecrackers can be an unnerving summer distraction. This DCist lives on the eastern fringe of Capitol Hill, where trying to distinguish between periodic gun-fire and firecracker explosions can make for many a sleepless nights. We’ve learned that police sirens are usually the best indicator of whether those nightly pops are kids having fun or perps shooting at each other or innocent bystanders.

It’s right about this time that we start looking forward to August.