Sweet Music // Good Conversation

Cicadas in Our Ear—Sweet Music

We live on the upslope of a small hill in the middle of Fort Payne, AL. When we arrived home Sunday evening about 7pm, May 5th,  we could hear the long lost friends—they’ve arrived here. The pitch of their collective sound seems higher than what I remembered as a young man when they visited central Indiana, but it isn’t an irritable sound, rather pleasant, I muse. (Yes, that is a correct use off the word muse, as a noun.)

Cicadas are a joy, and I hope they are not a nuisance to you. They do a lot more FOR us than they do against us. Yes, when they finish what they are resurrected to do every 13 or 17 years, many of them sometimes die in the wrong places and make a mess we have to clean up. But, most die in the soil from whence they came and are the feed for everything from their own eggs to trees and fields full of necessary crops—dead Cicadas are very good for us (just like live ones are!) So, we should not gripe about a little cleanup, eh?

Don’t think me too weird when I tell you that my young life memory of the Cicadas (somewhere in my mid-teens, I think)—I remember missing them, sorrowing when they were gone: is that weird? I don’t remember studying them, nor even talking about them, but I remember wishing I could hear them again. Perhaps I lived where they came forth in the 60-some years between then and now, but I can’t remember hearing them in the loud concert of todays visit. So, it is a simple, pure, and unadulterated pleasure each morning almost exactly at 7AM when they begin making the unified “singing” of sorts —we seem to hear two different buzz-tones—while we sit outside enjoying our coffee. Still cool mornings, by the way, here on May 23rd.

A little Cicada story: As I left the house, walking into our downtown for exercise and a valuable asset for health and getting to my little office in the front of our warehouse, noticeably I did not hear any Cicadas. Then, in less than two blocks, their melodious sound came vibrating back into my hearing—no, I don’t understand that. It seems like they woke every one of their mates and fellows, then waited for some mysterious reason, noticed some did not get aroused (?) and started their chorus again. 

A little Cicada story #2: As I walked on and going on a downhill path, in front of me sitting facing away from me was a healthy looking Cicada. As I came within a couple of steps of it, it rose like a small plane taking off, and flying forward at about my eye height, going about the same speed as me, it flew 15-20 feet, then veered to the left and went into its descent like a small plane would descend. It landed on a lawn in much the slow glide pattern to a stop——just like a relative of the Kitty Hawk would have landed. Beautiful. Ain’t the Lord’s creation grand?!

Great Conversations

As long as I have been a saved man (Oct.1964), I have believed that believers (not necessarily yet saved, but believers) do not meet accidentally. I believe we meet for a purpose. 2Tim. 2:19 says this: “Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal; the Lord knoweth them that are his…” Then it’s easy for me to say what I just wrote because He, the Lord knows us. Each day I look for the next one I will meet. Consequently, I meet a lot of people which may or may not be known by the Lord. And even though I have no “pop-quiz” to give them in order to make a judgment of that, it’s my intention with friendly words to speak allowing my “conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ”—Phi.1:27. 

Probably not a surprise to you that my words many times fall on deaf ears instead of receptive listeners and in fact, many times I know down inside “don’t bother, Ol’Jer, it ain’t going that direction,” and I often turn the conversation to another subject with the hope of engaging them to one day, some day, there will be another chance. I don’t keep records or tally sheets about any of it. Also, there’s some abrupt ends which mean is wasn’t a conversation after all. But, if there is a continuing chat it probably has to be in one of these categories:

The Lord

His Word

Our Testimony

Our Ministry, or

Basketball

Baseball

Football

Exercise, or

Alkaline Water

Alkaline Water stores

Local Alkaline Water availability, or

our kids

former employment, present employment, or

Schools

Those are things I can talk about for hours. So, if you get near me and I start talking, we’ll either talk about you or one of the above. Whichever way you want to go. So let’s meet up, shall we?

Thanks for reading, the Elder