It’s hard to believe, but I had never seen a cicada until last night. Some of you may not have heard of them, so I’ll explain. They’re insects that only come out of the ground in the eastern United States of America every 17 years. They make noises that some find offensive, but to me they’re more like a chorus of chirping birds in a nest. Seems their only purpose in life is to mate, lay eggs and die about 6 weeks later. The eggs hibernate for 17 years, and emerge at a predictable time of the year when the earth is warm enough . It’s very mysterious, but to me, these bright squishy cicadas have a message.
They say some people eat the cicadas. I suppose if you were starving, it would make sense. Apparently, they’re a good source of protein. But fried cicadas? Baked cicadas? Cicada Stew? No thanks.
Back to my first spotting last night. About ten of them were crawling on my deck while I watered the flowers. They didn’t like getting sprayed . Some of them simply squiggled around or fell on their backs when the water hit. Although they’re much bigger than bumble bees, they aren’t at all aggressive. In fact, they strike me as wimps. They didn’t come after this giant who stood over them, rudely intruding on their day in the sun.
What are cicadas trying to tell we human beings? To me, they’re saying that life comes and goes, and that we haven’t nearly as much control as we’d like to believe. They have a message: Just do whatever you were destined for on this earth, but don’t expect the good times to last forever. . Wars may be fought. Nations may rise and fall. Glaciers will melt. But the cicadas will come out every 17 years, no matter what.