Cicadas and Reunions

I'm at our annual family reunion in Kentucky. Got here late last night. The minute I got out of the car at Mom's house--whoa, the cicadas! This is a 17-year brood, now emerging after being in the ground since 1991. The ringing sound they make is quite something. Very loud. They only last about a month, and then they all die off. But not before laying millions of eggs on tree limbs. These eggs hatch, and the tiny nymphs fall to the ground, then burrow underground. They'll feed on tree sap.

They're flying around like crazy now, although they won't be lasting much longer. They're clumsy flyers and are likely to crash into you. They don't bite or sting, however. Certain sounds attract them, like lawnmowers. You might be covered in the critters if you want to cut your grass.

Here at the reunion, I'm rooming with my sister Sandy at Mom's house. (There are two other sisters around also.) Recently Sandy gave me a card that read on the cover, "Insanity is hereditary." On the inside it said, "We're so screwed."

I laughed and laughed at the card because, well, knowing the generation above us ... yeah. But here's the kicker. My sister told her teenage daughter about finding that card in a drawer at their house and giving it to me. Her daughter said, "Mom, I bought that card to give to Christine (her sister)."