I love the sound of cicadas. But, they also make me sad; cicadas mean fall. Some folklore says once you hear a cicada in the dog days of summer, then the first frost will happen six weeks later. I will have to put this on my calendar and see if it frosts in early October.

What country kid (and many a city kid) didn’t have fun finding cicada exoskeletons? My brothers and I used to scare each other with them, and I would hang them around the house. Although, I have to say the live cicadas are somewhat frightening-looking; I prefer the exoskeletons.

According to a 2013 article by Jamie McLeod in the Farmer’s Almanac, cicadas are often colloquially referred to as locusts because they can appear in vast swarms: “Though, locusts are technically a different species that also appears in epic proportions; cicadas are related to crickets, while locusts are actually grasshoppers.

“The insects are considered a delicacy in some countries, and can be eaten raw or prepared any number of ways. Cicadas are rich in folklore and symbolism. In China and Japan, they are seen as a symbol of reincarnation, and of the fleeting nature of life. In France, they represent nonchalance or joie de vivre.

“In ancient Greece, they symbolized immortality, as illustrated by the myth of Tithonus, who turns into a cicada after being granted eternal life, but not eternal youth, by the god Zeus.”

I guess I could eat a cicada if I was really hungry. I know dogs will eat them. For now I think I’ll leave trying one on the back burner. Maybe if there is a zombie apocalypse and I run out of Twinkies, I’ll change my mind.

Cicadas are always linked in my mind to new blue jeans. I know this may seem random, but it isn’t. Cicadas are heard in the fall when kids are going back to school. We went back to school later than kids do now, so when I heard cicadas it meant a trip to Terre Haute and the shopping mall.

Honey Creek Mall came to Terre Haute in 1968. It had J.C. Penney and Sears. What more did anyone really need?

It was there I had my first “foreign” food when a taco stand opened. While I can’t remember solid details, I know we were super excited to be eating food from another country (which I know now we really weren’t, but hey – I was a kid from the country). I do know we made the mistake of asking for hot sauce instead of mild sauce and none of us could really eat the tacos.

Before school I would get a couple new pairs of jeans and some new blouses. Probably new shoes, but I doubt I cared that much about the shoes – I preferred my cowboy boots.

The shopping mall was a thing of wonder. It had air-conditioning for one thing, and there was just so much to look at. I could walk to the different stores and see what the jeans looked like, although in the early 1970s I don’t think there were a lot of options. I know I went through a bib-overalls phase.

They also remind me of the first weeks back on at Franklin College. Franklin had a lot of trees, so there were a lot of cicada noises. When I hear cicadas now I can transport myself back to those college days of soft fall evenings, punctuated by the song of cicadas and whatever loud record someone was playing.

But, that’s why cicadas always make me think of new jeans, as fall was when we went shopping. Personally, I hope the first frost is further away than six weeks.