Cicadas. Everyone's talking about them these days.
You've probably heard about it - how they're really - sorry, can you hear me? - really loud - CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OK, I'LL CLOSE THE WINDOW!
Yep, cicadas. They're those weird bugs that stay underground for years and years - some for seven years, some for seventeen, so you forget that they're there, until suddenly they're everywhere. Millions of them. Billions of them.
No one seems to like them. They don't hang around like other bugs do every summer. Instead, they burst in all at once like a bunch of rude teenagers crashing a party. They come crawling out of the ground some quiet evening, all of them, and then they climb the nearest trees and shed their skins, leaving them hanging on the bark.
So now that they're here - and they're big and ugly, up to 2 inches long, with orange, vein-y wings and bulging red eyes - it's on to the next step: NOISE.
They make this buzzing sound using plates on the sides of their abdomens to attract a mate. And they're LOUD - as loud as chainsaws, loud as a jet, as loud as your neighbor's music, even. You can hear them a mile away. People call it a "chorus" of cicadas, but those guys have no musical talent and don't even try to harmonize.
They suck on tree sap and then pee all over - there's even a name for it: "cicada rain" (ew!). After they mate, the females make holes in twigs on trees and lay their eggs and die. Then the eggs hatch after a few weeks and drop down to burrow into the ground and hang out for another seven or seventeen years. So after a few weeks of noise, suddenly they're all gone.
Not the most pleasant creatures to have around. They're obsessed with sex, pee on everything, drink a lot and make really loud, annoying sounds. In fact, they sort of remind me of some of the guys I knew in college, come to think of it.
OK, I'll admit, they're good for the environment. They damage trees, yes, but they prune them too. And they feed other populations and give nutrients back to the soils when their bodies fall to the ground.
Some people eat them and say they have a very "green" flavor, since cicadas get their nutrients from tree roots. They say cicadas taste like asparagus. They're a good source of protein. Not me, thanks, I'll pass!
Now I can hear you saying, what's your point?
Here's the thing I like about cicadas. I love it that even the ugliest, humblest creatures can come out of nowhere and take over the world, if only for a few weeks. It gives me hope, especially right now.
These days I feel like all around me the world is plodding along unawares. There's so much that feels so very wrong - so many lies and injustices and urgent needs. Deep down inside I feel a shout, building and building; the part of me that wants to grab people by their shoulders and shake them until they pay attention. Maybe you feel it, too.
Let's do it. Let's find our way up into the light, let go of our old, worn-out selves and find a new voice together. We may sound rasping and raucous, but no one will be able to ignore us. If enough of us dare to speak out, we can bring the world to a screeching halt.
So if you hear a new sound down the road, it might just be me.
Join in if you like. I'll be listening for you.
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