Robbed by the bulldozer

I live in an area now experiencing the emergence of Brood II of the mid-Atlantic's famed 17 year cicadas.

Or, to be more accurate, I live in an area that should be experiencing Brood II's emergence.

I hear them in the forest behind the school where I park my bus. I hear them in what's left of the forest near the local elementary school. I suspect I'll hear them if I go hiking this weekend. But I'm not hearing them where I live.

Why not? That's a good question, but I'll be it has a lot to do with the fact that this community (if I dare use that term) didn't exist in 1996, when they last emerged. This area was mostly farm and forest back then, but nearly all the farms are gone, and only vestiges of the forests remain. All else has been churned up by bulldozers, transformed into a landscape of cookie-cutter townhouses interspersed with variations on the McMansion theme.

Did the bulldozers wreak so much havoc that they annihilated Brood II? That's my guess.

Sad. I miss the beady-eyed little critters. Along with their incessant song. And the farms and fields that have disappeared, too.

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Update: A wayward cicada flew into an open window on my bus and landed near a first grader. She wavered between disgust and fascination, so I leaned overand asked her age. "Six." I mentioned that the next time she saw one, she'd be 23. She looked puzzled, as though the very idea of ever being that old was utterly incomprehensible. To me, that's fundamental to the sense of wonder these insects engender; they stretch our sense of time beyond the constraints of the ordinary.

Update: The photo above replaces the "borrowed" original; this one was shot in the forest remnant bordering the lot where I park my bus.

The best of it, and otherwise

School's nearly over, and a lot of elementary kids mark the fact by giving their teaches and their bus drivers little gifts. On my morning run today, one gave me a little cup full of candy, and a note:

Thank you for driving me to and from school safely! You are the best bus driver ever!

Makes you feel good, y'know?

As for the otherwise .... Substituted on a kindergarten run for a colleague who was out today. Looked back in the mirror to see two boys rolling on the floor, one holding the other in a hammer lock. Ugh. Separated them and asked them if their teacher lets them do that in class.

     "No."

Does their bus driver let them do that on the bus?

     "No"

Then why were they doing it now?

     No answer.

Assigned them seats some distance from the other, but a couple of minutes later they were in the same seat, punching each other.

Sigh.

So sometimes I wonder why I ever step into that big yellow box. But that "best bus driver ever" note, and kids like the one who wrote it, answer the question ....

Sure wish a real Democrat would step forward

Virginia's gubernatorial race has two Republicans entered, but no Democrats.

The right wing Republican, Ken Cuccinelli, wants to lower taxes on corporations and the more affluent individual taxpayers. He proposes to cut the personal income tax from 5.75% to 5%, but this won't affect low-wage workers at all. He also proposes to cut the corporate income tax from 6% to 4%, which would be better news for stockholders than stockboys.

The "moderate Republican," Terry McAuliffe, will be listed on the ballot as a Democrat, but he isn't one. His tax proposal calls for eliminating or reducing a variety of business taxes. Again, nothing for low-wage workers, or even moderate-wage workers.

If there were a Democrat running who wanted to cut taxes, she or he would be looking at cutting the taxes that burden low-wage workers. Like the sales tax on food. Like extending upwards the lower income tax rate ceiling and floor, providing a break to low income Virginians without much affecting the rich ones. A real Democrat might also propose providing a property tax benefit for renters. After all, renters do pay property tax, if only indirectly; landlords certainly aren't paying such taxes out of their own pocket.

But no, there aren't any Democrats running in the state's gubernatorial contest.

I sure wish there was a viable third party who represented the bottom 80% or so.