Cicada Central

I remembered even from Oberlin that in this part of the country, during the summer, there's a constant buzzing sound in the air. It's so constant that I even wondered when we first came if it was an electrical station or something instead. I started to suspect cicadas, but wasn't sure, not really knowing what they look like or for sure how they sound. (I used to have a novelty cicada key chain that made a terrible sound when you hit the button and couldn't be turned off. I got rid of it because it was so horrible.)

Tonight I was bringing some things in to the back of our building and suddenly, right in the spotlight, I saw this beautiful and weird bug, but it was totally silent. It crept along the wall and I bent over to it to get a good look. It was a quiet moment of connecting with nature and I felt in awe of this huge and kind of creepy bug.

Then it suddenly "fluttered" (more like stumbled through the air) to the ground. It may have been injured. And it made such a racket as it did so that I accidentally screamed.

I hope no one heard me.