In New Jersey, 2021 was the Summer of Love — for the 17-year cicada. ;- )

My wife Nancy Fischer Waters and I collaborated on a prose / poem piece that captures a moment from that crazy-short time when the air was abuzz with cicadas. Talk about speed dating!

(The prose part is by Nancy. I supplied the title and the tiny poem at the end.)

Seventeen

I really love the 17-year cicadas. After living all but a few weeks of their lives underground, they emerge to fly around like crazy in their frenzied efforts to find a mate and lay the foundation for the next generation. They are a memorable sight, zipping through the air wherever you look!

Another memorable sight from the Brood X “invasion” of 2021 was me: a middle-aged woman screaming, wiggling, and swinging my purse in the Whole Foods parking lot in an effort to…