The Lonely Cicadas
One of the constant companions during the summer while living in the south (excluding the heat and mugginess) is the rattle of the cicada. Even in non-brood years, you will frequently hear them in the mornings and in the evenings. You may hear them during the afternoon as well, but why would you subject yourself to the heat?
When I hear the cicadas in the non-brood years, I think about how sad it must be to miss out on the party (brood years) with your tribe. There are times when I wonder if I’ve missed out on being with my tribe. Specifically, I wonder about what it would have been like to live in different eras. What would I have done? What kind of person would I have been?
I spend quite a bit of time reading about the personal computer revolution, which is that seemingly magical time from the late 1970’s through the early 1990’s, when possibility seemed unbounded. There seemed to be so much optimism around what a personal computer might enable in your life. I sometimes wish I would have had the chance to live through that time. Unfortunately, I was born in 1985 in a non-technology hub and I missed out on this experience. Instead, I am left to live through that period vicariously through the stories I read and hear. I watch videos reviewing vintage computer hardware, occasionally experimenting with restoring older hardware or emulating older software. I try, but it’s quite a bit different from living in it.
Anyway, I listen to the rattle of those isolated cicadas and I wonder if they realize they missed their brood.
