Thursday, July 03, 2008

Charlotte's crickets get worldwide attention

The Christian Science Monitor looks at the effects of foreclosures across the country, mentioning our Queen City insects along the way:

"From Atlanta's urban core to leafy neighborhoods filled with chirping crickets in Charlotte, N.C., some 2.2 million homes are expected to go through foreclosure – and stand empty – by the time the mortgage meltdown ends, according to Global Insight, an economic research firm."

Housing expert Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution compares the foreclosure crisis to a lot of mini-Katrinas slamming cities all over the country.

The article focuses on Atlanta, and then lists a variety of mechanisms being used in cities to help homeowners. No further mention of Charlotte, or its crickets.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

um ok

Anonymous said...

[crickets]

Anonymous said...

Years ago I attended a cookout in Charlotte. There was also a born-and-raised NYC transplant there. At one point, there was a protracted lull in the conversation, and he got a puzzled look on his face. Somewhat frustrated, he piped up, "Ok, just what the hell IS that?"

The nearby woods were hosting some boisterous cicadas that evening. The rest of us were used to them and never paid any attention to them. He'd never heard them before.

Anonymous said...

The crickets are probably mics planted by socialist liberals trying to move us into high rises and dictate our everyday lives. What else could all that chirping mean?

Anonymous said...

California songwriter Joseph Swenson, who once sang in a prelude concert for the Charlotte Pops in Freedom Park, gave the cricket a place of honor in his song, "Back Home Again":

"And so here I sit
"With only some lonely cricket chirping',
"He's looking to get
"Back to the place his future's certain.

"And so you ask, well what about me?
"When will I ever see the answers?
"Now where would we be?
"Unless from time to time we took some chances."

So who's to say Charlotte's crickets aren't global pathfinders in their own right?