17 Years Later...

Yeah, I know it seems like it's been that long since I posted. I've been buried under a massive pile of last minute field trip registrations, room reservation requests, lengthy email arguments about office politics, boxes of outdated educational materials, and a whole bunch of migratory birds. (Actually, I'm still buried, but now that the birds have moved on I can reach the keyboard.)

Well, the cicadas should be here any day now. The ground temperature has hit 64 degrees and intermittent rain is expected all week. Are you ready?

I've been fielding calls at work about our five billion impending visitors for almost a year now. Now, with the emergence due any day, the calls have dropped off to nearly nothing.

Of course, this isn't really all that surprising. Cincinnati seems to be doing a pretty good job of getting the news out. Almost every news report I've seen in the last month or so has featured some sort of cicada-related story. The newsweeklies and newspapers are running special feature sections. The Museum Center has a cicada exhibit, the Zoo (which, according to some reports will be "ground zero" for the emergence) has offered several informational classes.

The surprising thing, or at least to me, has been the positive spin that the city is attempting to put on things this year. A CD celebrating the return of the cicada was recently released, featuring local bands. The Young Professionals of Cincinnati are hosting weekly "Cicada Escape Zone" happy hours at trendy nightspots around town. WEBN has emblazoned them upon their spring T shirts. A local jewelry maker is featuring cicada jewelry on her website. A local performance art production has been scheduled. Rather than run away screaming from the imminent invasion, we're being advised to simply grin and bear it. Or if you're like me, actually enjoy it.

I've always been mildly fascinated by the cicada, but this year I've become downright obsessive about them. I've marked my calendar with all of the goings-on about town, and have been checking my backyard obsessively for mud chimneys. (Alas, I have none, but I'm sure the trees in my neighborhood will be chock full of the little guys soon. At this point, I’m jealous of all the folks reporting emergences to Cicada Mania.) I've ordered my Brood X World Tour T shirt. And in a fit of silliness, I wrote a song on Friday. (Further proving that Zappagirl and I share the same brain, she was doing the exact same thing when I emailed her to share in the wackiness.)

So with all apologies to Golden Earring, may I present… “Red Eyed Love.”

Been living for 17 years underground
Now the air is filled with a piercing sound
It's my baby calling, my cicada dude
Singing "Come on out and join the brood."

The soil has reached a steamy 64 degrees
Time to shed my skin and head into the trees
There ain't no time to tease

We've got a thing that's called Red-Eyed Love
Tymbals sounding in the night... Red-Eyed Love

Gotta find me a man, gotta make it fast
'Cause cicada love ain't meant to last
Mate and die, only got six weeks
While avoiding dogs and birdie beaks

Our time is short, our love is winging through the air
Except for when I'm caught in someone's hair
But I don't even care

We've got a thing that's called Red-Eyed Love
Gonna get me some tonight... Red-Eyed Love

And now it's getting close to the end of June
Our fun-filled days will be over soon
We emerged in broods five billion strong
We're everywhere, but not for long

After spending all night gettin' it on
My baby won't see another dawn
Dropping out of the trees and onto the lawn
One more red-eyed lover gone…

Yeah, I know. I’m weird. Now I need to go work on my cicada haiku before I go running around my yard tonight with a flashlight looking for ghostly white newly emerged adults.

Come out, little buggies!