Hey girls, my husband says I should offer to trade you our tornadoes for your cicadas. The tornadoes would not blow here all night, the noise of the cicada mating calls would stop there, and still no one would get a good night's sleep.
Tornadoes came all around us last night. Electricity was off as usual.
Actually a tornado is pretty exciting. The local weather stations go crazy. They love terrible weather. The television is full of it. Everyone turns into a storm chaser. They take video cameras and try to get as close as possible without blowing away. The best shots are on the ten o'clock news.
People from foreign countries are now paying thousands of dollars to come here in the spring to chase storms. The television studios have sky chasers who fly into the tornadoes in helicopters and film them for the news.
It's really exciting to watch on television and out the window. We sort of regard it as a huge party. Everyone calls everyone else to see if they are okay and it becomes a social event. No one has basements, but in our house we have a sort of cellar (we call them fraidy holes) under the stairs. Neighbors show up and we all sit in there very close together (it's small). We light candles and discuss the storm and gossip til it's over. A lot of times we just hang out in there for a while if we're having fun.
Of course sometimes the tornadoes turn evil and if people are hurt or destroyed everyone mourns. Roofs blown off and even houses destroyed are commonplace though and no one gets too upset. The building back is a whole other party.
smile

[ May 30, 2004, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

Living in Indiana as a child and then Illinois as an adult, Tornados are no stranger to me. We did have a basement in Illinois and my boys and I use to take the fishing lanterns and grab chips and fill the cooler with beverages. Once though our party was dampened by the loudest sound I've ever heard, like a train coming at us. When the noise calmed down and we no longer heard the storm we ventured upstairs to see a large tree where my one sons room had been. Along our beautiful street were dozens of 100 year old Maple trees and our neighbors two doors down fell and crushed the next door neighbors home and part of ours. Luckily no one was home next door and we were safe under the stairs in the basement. Here in Vegas we get "high" wind warnings that are just as scary only without the rains usually. Across the street from me, my friends entire metal awning was ripped off her house and we just watched pieces blow down the road. They say Mother nature can be brutal. But I'll trade some silly chirping love sick bugs for a tornado anytime......

I'll take the bugs too! Thanks for putting things in perspective.

Your stories remind me of blizzards in the northeast. We get pelted with snow. The beauty of them is the way they brings people together!

A friend of mine says that to him the cicadas (they're known as Brood X by the way; X = 10) are like the circus coming to town. I think I agree with him. They're so goofy.

And another bonus -- I think the birds are afraid of them! I just harvested the best cherry crop I've ever had from my cherry tree -- usually the birds beat me to it.

We have hurricanes out here anyway, and an occasional tornado. Last fall a lot of folks on the Bay lost their homes.

They're indeed the goofiest bugs. I feel sorry for them. They're the weakest flyers you've ever seen. They have no direction. When you watch them from afar, they take off with no flight pattern, landing wherever their weak wings take them.

While walking to town the other day one landed on my husband's neck, back, my toe...crazy. I don't think they know how to fly around someone. Poor things.

I love your bugs. They inspired my musical and they are very endearing in it. I'm getting quite attached to them. I'll probably never see this on stage, but it's great in my imagination.
Your blizzards do sound like our tornadoes. It usually snows a couple of times here every winter. None of us know how to drive in it and we drive newcomers crazy. They curse us. Our snow removal system is pretty much a small shovel and a shaker of salt so the roads are pretty bad.
But we really enjoy the snow. The entire city closes down. No school or work so everyone goes to any hill they can find and I don't think they even sell sleds here so people slide down in the craziest contraptions. One of my favorites is the inner tube with a lawn chair duct taped to it. Like in your town, snow brings people together, but possibly in a whole different way.
smile

[ June 01, 2004, 12:35 AM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

The ultimate in cicada invading -- I woke up at 3 a.m. to find one in bed, under my butt! Don't know what it had been doing before I found it!

Oh boy you should see the picture I have in my head; This cicada thinking he finally found an unsuspecting piece of a- -. Visions of him gasping for air, kicking his tiny little legs and trying to push your butt off of him. Reminds me of the elephant(no offense) and the flea, the flea is pumping the elephant saying "am I hurting you babe?" LOL

damn thing tried to mate with me!

Update:

While sitting at a traffic light a cicada flew in my car and scared the %^&$ out of me. As soon as I realized what it was I took it by the wings and flung it out the window. I proceeded to have a hot flash.

While wiping my brow at the very next light, I found myself laughing out loud while I witnessed a gal at the bus stop talking on her cell phone, jumping around like a crazy lady and swatting at the cicadas attacking her. She was also laughing with the person on the phone.

Next, sitting at a drive-thru waiting to pick up a prescription, another one landed on my face and hair while I was speaking with the pharmacist. I flung it out the window being careful not to fling it in her window!

These poor things are out of control.

The sad part is all this mating they're supposed to be doing... I've only seen about 4 or 5 mating. Poor things!