Book Entry 98: 1971 The Beetle Attack!

           Larry was gone for the night to Modesto.  He and his father were taking classes to become Real Estate agents.  I was home with Heidi and Romeo.  I didn’t mind being home alone as the Dodge’s were just up the driveway.  If anything broke or I got scared I knew I could go to them.

          I was playing with Heidi and watching TV in our living room.  The weather was perfect.  It was a warm summer evening.  The sun was just setting.  I heard an odd tap on the front window.  I didn’t pay any attention at first.  Then, there was another tap and another.  It started to sound as if hail was pelting the window pane.  

          I walked over to the front door, flipped the light switch on, and peeked out the door.  The sidewalk in front of our house must have had two hundred or more huge black beetles on it.  They were everywhere and more were still hitting the window!  They were stuck on their backs.  As they wiggled trying to right themselves their hard shell-like wings sounded like sandpaper rubbing against the cement.  

        
          I knew if the sidewalk was covered in beetles the trees must be full of them too.  I switched the outside light off but the beetles kept hitting the window for about another hour.  They must have been seeking the light from inside the house.  They were longer than the width of my palm.  It was disgusting.

          It must have been a beetle migration or something.  I had never seen a swarm like that before and have not seen one since.  I have seen a single beetle of that type a time or two.  When Larry got home I told him about the beetles.  There were still a few in the front yard but most of them were gone.