Things They Just Don't Have on the West Coast: Cicadas

Upon arriving in the Midwest, it became obvious to me that there are many things we have in this great country that are not universally experienced.  Some of these things are delightful.  Others are terrifying.  I'm going to start this series off with something that's terrifying: cicadas.

When I first stepped off the bus at our retreat center in Indiana the first thing that I noticed (other than the styffling heat and hellish humidity, but that's another post entirely) was a constant and defining droning.  To the uninformed listener, one might have mistaken this noise for a train, a generator, or perhaps an ancient and dying computer not unlike the one I left at home. 

Alas, this racket is simply the natural cry of the cicada, an insect that lives in the trees and does nothing but scream bloody murder all summer long.  Apparently this is normal here.  But to me, it freaks me out.  Not to mention these suckers are about two inches long.  Bugs just don't get that big on the West Coast, and when they do it's abnormal and should freak you out.  Here's a picture and Wikipedia link for good measure.  I can't wait for these suckers to die.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada