Once every seventeen years, the northeastern part of the country, along with other parts of other countries, is graced by a cloud of swarming, loving bugs we like to call cicadas. Looking akin to the typical Pokemon, the cicada is considered by many to be the definitive summer bug. In such large masses and so early in the year it is rare for them to come around, so the seventeen year lapse in migration is a time of celebration for many bug enthusiasts and Pokemon-enthusiasts-who-think-cicadas-are-Pokemon.



This is a very unifying holiday for those affected, because even if your religion or preference dictates that you don't take part in holidays, this is one you HAVE to celebrate because your lawn and trees will be covered with weird looking bugs that will freak your kids out!



If you look around the internet, you'll see a ton of websites dedicated to cicada recipes, cicada songs, and Pokemon, which cicadas are not, though some people think they are.



Well, although I think cicadas are great, I still don't eat bugs. When I'm accused of killing my father and am forced to leave Pride Rock and take refuge in an oasis with a talking prairie dog and a wild boar, I'll eat cicadas. Now is not that time. Now is the time to sit outside and listen to them, and to find their neat shells and make finger puppets out of them. Then, and only then, can you put one on each index finger, pretend that they're Pokemon, and fight with them.



Wow, cicadas are awesome. I just found out about this today, mind you, but inspiration hit me only five minutes ago, prompting me to write about this natural phenomenon. That, and the thousands of cicadas on my trees, lawn, and dog. I'll bet there are thousands of great clubs you can join in your hometown to celebrate the coming of this magnificent bug of long ago, and there's also probably some kind of International Cicada Society that conducts secret meetings and has strange rituals in the manner of the cicada's mating dance. Those things are GREAT.



Hang on a second, are cicadas bugs or insects?



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Dude. Cicadas. They're awesome. So go out and find a cicada today, and when you do, say hi, and thank him and his brethren for coming to your town en masse. If you want to be weird about it, make a cicada pie or something, but I think these bugs are way too cool to eat, so do something else to celebrate it, like play a game of Ultimate Cicada Frisbee or something. Just enjoy this great holiday. Peace.