Actors, for the most part, sacrifice their own being while performing to get inside the head of the character they're playing. Any and all of their 'real' problems suddenly vanish into the sidelines -if only momentarily- as they take on another persona and accept this as factual. Acting isn't just pretending to be something... acting is fooling yourself into believing it to be true. Once this ability and feeling is harnessed and tamed to be able to be turned on or off with the flick of a switch, a true actor a person becomes.

But this doesn't just apply to actors.

Every person, at once time or another, has stepped into somebody else's shoes and experienced such a transformation. For you fanfiction writers, you can relate when I say that the reason you write fanfiction centralizes around this core feeling of becoming something you enjoy. Namely... characters, settings and themes from other stories (movies, comics, books and all other media included). For most people, it happens every time you watch a movie. _{A good one, anyway.} For a little while, you toss yourself into the air and allow another person to seep into you. Not just one, even - multiple persons. Multiple places. Aspects that become complex to explain. And this is something not only normal, but essential to human happiness.

Without such pretending (noted by Freud as the id's 'death instinct'), harsh facts of reality are all that's left to be absorbed, and reality is... well, let's face it: it stinks. It's boring, often annoying, and even depressing. If you look at things with no sense of false character, it might even be possible for you to lose what you once believed yourself to be - and that gives way to asking the cliche question, "What is the meaning of life?" Works of art such as movies and books become irrelevant, and focus on tasks begins to dwindle as that's all there is to focus on with no breaks except for thought of such things. Variety becomes so scarce that one may become so desperate to find it that they end up sacrificing whatever minimal goals they'd set for themselves in the meantime (IE: completing school, winning a contest, etc). Ultimately, the loss of losing yourself results in truly losing yourself.

Why do kids so enjoy 'playing pirate' _{(or, in the disgusting stereotypical female equivalent, 'playing princess')}? How can facts that don't directly relate to you be so enthralling? How come the mention of a tear falling down a cheek makes one envision a face for it to fall down, or the description of other worlds forces one's imagination to create it? Why is it so hard to toss away a good story without reading the ending, - or, in a fanfiction writer's case, even accept that there is an end?

It's an act.

And, in the case of those who harness these abilities to create, and take them out and beyond the realm of witnessing a media... it's an art.

Today marks the beginning of Crane Fly Season. They only come out in droves for a while every year (not more than a month, I believe, and probably much less), and it's during this time that we constantly have to save them from family pets and bathrooms and windows and put them back outside where they belong. They come in solos or pairs, just like Love Bugs (Love Bug Season is later in the year, as does June Bug Season), and love to hang out in tall grass or clover - aside from everywhere else, I mean.

How does today mark it? Simply, I found a Crane Fly in the bathroom, and took it outside - where another one was perched on the wall by the door. And I haven't seen any this year until now.

[link] A visual, in case you call them something else. Mosquito Hawk is a common name. Though they look like giant mosquitoes, don't let that fool you; they're completely harmless, and are in fact incredibly clumsy. They also lose their legs easily, so if you're handling one, be extremely gentle - holding it in a lightly closed hand is the best way, or putting it in a jar. If you're extremely talented with small things, you might be able to pick it up by its wings or thorax without damaging it.

I digress.

As tradition... though I missed it last year, and that's a cryin' shame... there's always Crane Fly Day! A day without a designated date, it's the day when they seem to be absolutely everywhere and you can't take a step without stirring up a few. What happens on CFD, you ask? Why... we (I) go out and catch as many as possible, of course!

A large container -usually clear plastic- is used, and however many are in the container at the end of... however long... is how points are scored. They must be alive and mobile to count; dead or seriously injured ones means bad handling. A pair can be double points, but is commonly worth the same as two.

And, of course, to count them, they are released one by one to return to the weeds and walls from whence they came.

It's a wonderful time of year. Let's all hold hands [with Crane Flies] and sing insect-related songs.