by Kat Dublin
Alright, let me tell you a little story. Picture this: a little creature, let’s call him Jimmy, is born to two older creatures who fell deeply in love many years ago. After the birth, Jimmy’s mother, tears rimming her yellow eyes, muttered, “He’s so beautiful,” as she held her son for the first time. Her lifelong dream of becoming a mother had finally come true. Jimmy’s father, who did not often cry, had tears running down his face as his mind swam with images of the life to come. Playing catch in the yard, late night walks, training Jimmy up to work, delicious family dinners of freshly cut grass and seeds.
Both parents were filled with all-consuming joy, excitement, and love for their child. Before they knew it, Jimmy was not only walking, he was jumping lengths almost equal to that of his parents. With some training from his father, he quickly became adept at burrowing into the soil and avoiding any predators of the wild.
He worked alongside his father, gathering greens and soil. He talked often to his mother, long conversations about their dreams for the life to come. And soon, Jimmy began to realize that he wanted a life of his own. And he wanted to share that life with another. There just so happened to be a very beautiful, very joyful creature that Jimmy had grown up alongside. Her name was Crissy. One day, Jimmy saw her gathering seeds, and something inside him had shifted. His face was flushed and there was a deep rush in the pit of his stomach. He had to talk to her.
So, Jimmy gathered up all his confidence and strutted over to Crissy. They got to talking, and in a burst of nerve-wracking courage, he asked her to go on a walk with him later that day. And she said yes. Jimmy, heart galloping with riotous jubilation, said goodbye and began the long trek home. He hopped across the grass and soil and soon came to the Concrete Crossing. A miles-long strip of neverending concrete, the Crossing was one of the most dangerous places for a creature like Jimmy to venture. But Jimmy had never been hurt before. And he knew that today of all days he would be alright. But then…
Jimmy took one jump onto the concrete. His legs bent in preparation for the next, but a strange strip of oval-shaped darkness fell across him and the concrete beneath him. He took one look up at the sky. But there was no sky. Instead, Jimmy saw the brown, textured sole of a size 43 Birkenstock crashing through the air straight towards him. Jimmy’s last thought was of his mother’s glittering yellow eyes, his father’s low, kind voice, and Crissy’s shiny brown wings. Then with a simple crunch, Jimmy’s guts exploded over the pavement, where, over the next few days, dogs would sniff and the sun would dry his carcass into a mere mummified memory. Sad, right? Well, hopefully you’ve caught on by now. But in case you haven’t, I’ll just tell you. Jimmy and his family were innocent little crickets. The Concrete Crossing was a sidewalk. And the Birkenstock? That’s you. That’s your foot. You crushed the living soul out of a poor, lovesick creature. Does this help to put into perspective the beautiful life that these poor crickets have to live? Jimmy had hopes and dreams. He had parents who loved him more than anything. More importantly, Jimmy was created by The Creator: God.
Crickets are rampant across our beautiful campus. But too often as I’m walking down our sidewalks, I see absolute carnage. Crickets dead on every block, each pressed into the pavement in the rectangular outline of a shoe. Crickets mean no harm. They may seem scary, but they truly cannot hurt humans. But us humans? We can end their life in seconds. So, next time you’re walking through campus and see one of these tiny brown creatures, think twice before crushing it. He may be on the way home to see his wife and kids. She may be absentmindedly going over her to-do list in her head. Crickets have vibrant, beautiful lives to live. So stop ending them too soon.
