Howdy Fellow Commodore Users!

Local media in Cincinnati have been reminiscing of a popular/not-so-popular insect known as the 17 year seasonal Cicada. Frankly, I hate the critter, and always will. My memory of the last plague, was not as vivid as my first encounter of the critters when I was in Athens Ohio attending college there. I saw newscasts from Cincinnati complaining of the creatures, but in my neighborhood in Middletown (where I was living at the time) did not suffer from the visitors.

Athens Ohio had a horror story of sorts, since I witnessed it first hand back in 1982, if memory serves me correctly. The cicadas were so loud, you could hear their noises as they made their siren calls to fellow cicadas, from inside closed buildings...even with closed windows and air conditioners running. CBS national news even came to Athens Ohio and shot video for their Evening News program. They videotaped a road worker, with a jackhammer in hand busy at his work, and a swarm of cicadas circling the worker! The weeks of constant droning played havoc on my ears, so much, that my own ears were ringing from the noise, and I was not aware of it due to the constant noise of the bugs. During the weekend, I decided to visit my parents who were fortunately for me, living in a area not affected by the cicada brood that was plaguing Athens. The quiet was amazing, and it was there, that I realized my ears were still ringing from the events in Athens. Unfortunately, the weekend only lasted a few days, and I had to return to Athens, and endure the critters some more.

Hopefully, this year will not be a good one for the Cicadas. I do not look forward to the ringing of the ears. I don't care what positive publicity Cincinnati attempts to spin on the critters, I will always hate them. If I have to relive the days gone by, it will be with my Commodore, playing a game of Gorf, blasting away space invaders, and being a little more than a space cadet.

Keep on Commodoring!