The Erie Crickets

“Crickets!” Martin yelled, as he suddenly burst through the door. 

“Crickets?” Sheila asked, as she suddenly dropped her tea. 

“Yes! NASA needs scientists to listen for crickets during the eclipse on Monday! And I’m just the scientist to do it!” Martin exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement. 

“Martin, you’re an accountant, not a scientist. And what in the name of the sun, moon, and stars are you even talking about? What do crickets have to do with a solar eclipse?” Shelia asked, cleaning up her spilled tea. 

“NASA has been studying the behavior of animals during astrological phenomena for years, Shelia! Everyone knows that! But now’s my chance to get in on the action! Now’s my chance to really make a difference in the scientific community! With crickets!” 

“Ok. Let’s say not everyone knows about NASA studying crickets. What can you tell that person who may have missed that article in Aspiring Scientists Weekly?” Sheila prodded. 

“It’s a well-known fact that animals behave differently during different astrological events. You know, sea turtles mating in broad daylight, nocturnal animals thinking it’s night and waking up to prowl about. But what do we know about the sounds of an eclipse?” Martin asked, his eyes glimmering with utter excitement. 

“Um, I don’t know what it sounds like when sea turtles mate. Do I want to know?” 

“No! That’s not what I’m talking about! Stay focused here, Shelia!” 

“So, NASA wants you to…listen for crickets during the solar eclipse?” Sheila ventured.

“Yes! Exactly! Let’s leave today! Hurry, pack your things! There’s work to be done, Sheila! Important work! We need to go to Erie, where there will be totality!” Martin shouted as he ran up the stairs to pack his suitcase. 

Sheila put her teacup in the sink, and smiled. Martin was a “scientist in training”, as she liked to call him. Always thinking up little “experiments” in the basement “lab”. His 9-5 job paid the bills, but his passion was for all things science. And what could it hurt to take a little road trip and let Martin have his fun? 

Sheila sat at the kitchen table and looked up antique shops in and around Erie, where their scientific expedition would take them. She saved a few addresses of the shops that looked cute, and glanced at the clock. She could hear the occasional thud and thump from upstairs as Martin frantically threw together his essentials. 

Less than two hours later, Martin and Sheila were on the road to Erie. The sun was shining as their dust-coated black Honda Civic cruised along the highway, eating up the asphalt and leaving a cloud of carbon monoxide in its wake. 

“Not much further, and we’ll be at the hotel. I can get all of my recording instruments in order, and organize my notebooks. I’ll need to be prepared for tomorrow,” Martin said, more to himself than to Sheila. 

“What time is the eclipse supposed to start?” Sheila asked, mentally mapping the antique stores she wanted to get to after the “experiment” was over. 

“In the late afternoon. But I plan to scout the best viewing spots that have wooded areas as well to be sure I’m in cricket range. I have several ideas, so we can drive around in the morning checking out which is best!”

“Sounds - great!” Sheila said with feigned enthusiasm. She was plotting how to take the Honda shopping and leave Martin with his crickets. 

The next morning, Martin was up with the birds while Sheila rested soundly in the hotel bed. He brewed the little pot of complimentary coffee, deciding it was better than nothing. He adjusted his glasses, and stared down at the pages in his notebook. He looked out the hotel window, sipping and thinking. Martin had wanted to be a scientist since he was in 2nd grade and won first place in the class science fair. Since then, it had been a driving force in his life. That is, until his father took the wheel and drove him to something more “sensible”, like accounting. Martin couldn’t afford to pay for college on his own, and his father’s condition for paying for his degree was that he earned it in what he decided. Which was accounting. 

Martin sighed.

Sheila stirred. 

“Is that coffee I smell?” she asked, slowly opening her eyes to the bright room and rays of morning sunshine falling on her face. 

“Sure is! Best hotel coffee this side of the Susquehanna!” Martin grinned. 

“Have you been up long?” Sheila asked with a yawn.

“Oh, not very long.” Martin lied. 

“I’ll get a shower and we can get moving. Is it far to the first spot you want to check out?”

“No, it shouldn’t take very long to get there. If it turns out to be a good one, we can set up camp there until the eclipse starts. I’d like to start documenting the crickets as early as possible, and have a time table of before, during, and after the event,” Martin said. 

“Alright, sounds like a plan to me,” Sheila said as she gathered her clothes for the shower.

“Here we are!” Martin beamed, pulling into a large parking lot adjacent to a field. Next to the field, a wooded area filled with trees grew as far as the eye could see. 

Martin and Sheila walked to the field, and Martin headed directly to the edge of the woods. Sheila lagged behind, hoping Martin would be happy with this spot and she could scoot fifteen minutes down the road to Erie Antiques and Collectibles. She was on the hunt for an antique clock to add to her collection. 

“Well? What do you think?” she asked. 

“I think it’s a great spot! I’m going to set up our chairs, and my table, and start my recordings and notes!”

“Perfect! I’m just going to zip on down the road a bit and check out a shop or two. I’ll be back by eclipse time. Call me if you need me, ok?” Sheila said with a smile, eager to get on her way. 

“Alright, but be sure you’re back in time! You don’t want to miss this! Did you know there won’t be another one until 2045?” Martin asked, suddenly realizing that this will be his last total solar eclipse. 

“Wow, no I hadn’t realized that,” Sheila replied, knowing what Martin was thinking. 

Martin grabbed his materials and Sheila got in the car, but her mind was not on antique clocks anymore. 

Pencil in hand, AudioMoth recorder set, Martin took note after detailed note. He listened for the birds, the insects, the frogs, and of course the crickets. He made recordings at regular intervals, and counted down the minutes as the time of totality approached. Sheila had since returned, and assumed her position in her chair as they both glanced at the time. 

“Any minute now, and we’ll see the first shadowing! Isn’t this exciting?” Martin whispered, as if in a movie theater not wanting to disturb the other viewers. 

“Yes, very exciting!” Sheila said with a smile. 

While wandering the antique shop, Sheila had come to a conclusion. And she was more excited about her decision than about the moon temporarily blocking out the sun for a few minutes. Once it was over, she would tell Martin. 

Slowly, the moon cast darkness over the sun. Everything became still, quiet, eerie. Sheila looked at Martin, who had been furiously writing down notes. She adjusted her special eclipse viewing glasses and watched as the sun disappeared, as the light was no longer permitted to warm the earth. She felt a chill as a slight wind brushed over her face and arms. Then, a sound filled the still air around them. The crickets! They did begin to chirp! It was a glorious sound. Martin and Sheila exchanged a look, and Martin nodded, hypothesis confirmed.

Then seemingly as quickly as it had occurred, it ended. The sun revealed itself again, and the world was back to its former pre-eclipse state. 

Martin felt the warmth of the sun hit his face, and the sounds from the woods fill his ears. He looked at Sheila and smiled.

“That was so incredible! I can’t wait to finish up these notes and send my recordings to NASA!” Martin exclaimed. 

“That’s not all you should do,” Sheila said. Martin looked at her, confusion written on his face.

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“You light up brighter than the sun when you’re doing your experiments. Accounting is the moon that casts a shadow over you. It’s eclipsing your happiness, and it shouldn’t. Quit your job, Martin. Follow your heart, and the light. I think it’s the path that was always written in the stars for you. And now I need to stop with all the astrological comparisons!” Sheila laughed. 

{Crickets}

Martin just stared at her. He didn’t know what to say. He had never considered quitting his job, or not being an accountant after 25 years. Could he do it? Could he really do it?

   “Well? Are you going to say anything?” Sheila prompted. 

“I - I don’t know what to say. Can we make it work? I mean, what if I can’t find a job right away?” Martin whispered.

“We will make it work. I promise. You need to do this,” Sheila said as she took his hands. 

Martin let the idea sit in his head. Then it reached his heart. Then it spread across his face in the biggest smile Sheila had seen in a very, very long time. 

“Then yes! Yes! I’m going to quit my job!” Martin said, jumping out of his chair and nearly dropping his pages of notes into the grass. 

Martin and Sheila went to dinner at an Italian restaurant on the way home. They celebrated sharing a historic event, and the start of a new adventure. Sheila had always been able to pursue what she wanted in life, largely because Martin endured his job and earned enough to provide for them. She had stayed home and raised their children, now grown, and worked remotely as an editor. She had always been more than happy with what she chose to do, and now it was Martin’s turn. It may have taken a rare total solar eclipse and a bunch of crickets, but Martin was ready to take a chance on his dreams.