Real Life Drama at the delagar Household

The two cats converge on my chair, where I am busily writing my novel, my earphones on, Steve Earle singing about laying his guitar down in my ears. They are staring intently upwards.

This is never a good sign.

I twist around in the chair toward the window to see what has caught their attention.

Holy hell, it's wasp.

I leap from the chair, spilling my laptop and coffee and dignity. Two minutes later, the wasp is smashed, the dog has fled in terror and the cats are watching me from the Way High Up.

"Why did you let a wasp in the house?" I demand of them. "What kind of cats are you?"

They regard me with disdain. Obviously wasps are my department.

Attacked by Giant BUGS!!

The kid and I take our walks in the early evening these days. We just about have to, with the weather Fort Smith has been having lately -- summer's vicious heat having arrived. Today was the first day in two weeks that the temperature did not go over 100, and usually the high was closer to 110 to 100. Also, no rain and few clouds have combined to dry up our world.

So just at or just past sunset (9.00 or so in these parts) is when we go walking.

Which has been fine until lately.

Just lately, and I can't say why -- maybe it's attached to the drought? -- all the cicadas have taken to dropping out of the trees. While this is sad for the cicadas, who struggle around and die on the pavement and roads and among the dry stubble of dead grass in people's lawn, it is worse for me and the kid, because when we're out walking at night, giant cicadas keep landing on us.

I don't know if you have ever seen a cicada up close. Here's a picture of one on Wikipedia.

Our are bigger, and MUCH UGLIER.

Especially when they land on you. And yell at you.

The kid thought it was funny when it was me it happened to. Because I made a sound like this: "AAAAGH!"

But then it happened to her.

Not so funny now, huh?

Enough to put you off exercise, I swear.