On top of that, I almost always carry a pistol with tritium sights or a light. So maybe that’s another reason I’m a bit more confident in the dark?

Yeah, carrying a gun everywhere might have something to do with why you feel comfortable and other people don’t.

The lack of fireflies aren’t a rural/urban thing, I don’t think. I’ve always lived in suburbs of a mid-size city and definitely remember fireflies swarming around as a kid, too.