Chirping Dinner

By Douglas V. Gibbs

My wife and I have a sort of empty nest.  The kids are grown up, with three kids each.  Our son, and his family, live right around the corner, so we get to see those grandkids quite often.  Our daughter is up the way a bit, but my wife makes sure to pay her a visit at least once every week, or two.

With the kids gone, it does not mean that we have an empty house.  We have two dogs.  One of them is an older Siberian Husky named Sasha who is territorial, loving, and a bit slower than she was in her younger years.  Murphy is the younger dog, approaching a year, and he is about as hyperactive as they get.  He is a Yorkie-Chihuahua mix, and he is named after Murphy's Law.  I have never seen an unluckier animal in my life.

The turtle has no name.  My wife just calls it "turtle," and I call it "turtle-boy," even though we have no clue of what sex the animal is.  He, or she, is quite active when my wife or I am in the room, splashing around and climbing up the glass.  She says it is simply because we feed it.  I think the turtle likes us, and is trying to get attention.

The other critters are our geckos.  The larger one gets along with everyone, and the smaller one is suspicious of everyone.  When I feed the geckos, the smaller one will eyeball me until I leave, unwilling to eat with me present.  The food for these guys are live crickets.  We get crickets for them about once per week.

It is the crickets that inspired me to write this piece.

I realize that crickets, or any insect or bug, can't rationalize.  I realize they are nothing more than slaves to their instinct.  But it cracks me up that after the geckos eat the first few crickets on feeding day, the remainder can be heard chirping daily until finally the last of them are eaten.

The crickets are food.  Their companions have been eaten.  They are in the enclosure with the predators that are anxious to eat them.  So their first thought is to start chirping?

It is almost like they are singing, "Here we are. . . come and get us."

Once again, I know that these things are not capable of rational thought, but you would think even an insect, while in the presence of something that wants to eat it, could remain silent, and hide out someplace.

I can hear them chirping now, though they are not as loud.  The geckos must've eaten a couple more.

Silence is once again on the horizon, until we pour more chirpers into the arena.

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