The Plague

The second I took my helmet off, I heard them. At first, I thought it
was just the ringing in my ears, but it was louder than I've ever
heard before. It was a strange buzzing coming from all around me. I
couldn't even tell if it was coming from any single direction as it
appeared to envelope me. It was then that I recalled hearing that
this was the year that the cicadas were to hatch. These
grasshopper-like insects are on a 17 year cycle and this summer was
the 17th year. I looked toward the nearby trees and that's when I saw
them. Ahhhh, its just the insects.
The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center was the site of my second NPS
stamp of the day. This one was to commemorate the I&M Canal which was
the site of some explorer's canoe portage. I didn't have time to
explore though as I wanted to get to southern WI and my Dad's house as
quickly as I could.
Apparently though, they weren't as eager to see me leave. I left the
schoolhouse and I knew that I needed gas before going to WI. I found
a place just before getting on I-294 northbound. While getting gas, I
discovered a hitchhiker on the bottom of my pants. Cicadas, like
grasshoppers, have little hooks on their feet and this one wanted to
take a ride! Ok, I thought, lets give him one!
Because it was hot, I had vents open on my aerostich. Shortly after
getting onto the interstate, felt something INSIDE my left arm sleeve.
I had to ride to a safe place to pull over but then I stopped and
found that I'd also scooped a cicada into my jacket sleeve! I had
enough of them, I pulled the one out of my sleeve and kicked the
hitchhiker off and continued north to my Dad's.
I arrived at my Dad's house at about 5:30 PM. Its been a rough two
days (700 miles the first day and 425 the second) so it will be nice
to have a day off tomorrow and just visit my Dad.
Its likely that I won't post anything tomorrow as its a day with my
father, but who knows???

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Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach