land of a thousand sounds

where we used to live, we could hear the silence. it was palpable. we could sit and steep in it, as one is steeped in sounds of the city. in my garden the occasional car would pass and otherwise, it was all quiet.

we were fortunate in that when we moved away once the home next door to us was built. we never had to suffer the construction sounds. it has always been a home unsullied by noxious sounds.

but i had begun to notice the increase of traffic on the road out front. i could hear trucks rumbling by more frequently. the young neighbor fancied rap and loud speakers in his car. things were definitely changing.

these changes are what started me praying,

i'd be ready to sell this place if i had to.

well watch out what you pray for kids. it happens, sometimes with the speed of lightening.

this new town, or village as it is called, in never silent. if it is not the neighbor upstairs rumbling about and creaking floorboards, it is the neighbor downstairs and muffled conversations. fortunately they are very kind and gracious neighbors. but they vacuum more than any living souls i know (last night i heard the vacuum at around 1am). while i, in contrast, didn't even bring my vacuum. eventually we'll see about changing that.

i've never been in a place so obsessed with trash. the trash truck rumbles by every day (or nearly, i'm not kidding). it's metallic sounding arms lift the heavy industrial cans set out for the church in our parking lot (or we are in their parking lot, actually. i've become as territorial as the blue jays chasing the raven this morning). or they rumble down the street, three times in one day that we saw while my sister was here. i've even seen a "trash patrol" car on the streets, a small white pickup with those ridiculous words on it.

for being so uptight about trash, there is trash everywhere. i've never seen so much trash (and we are generating quite a bit ourselves as we are still purging).

then there's the church bells, which are nice. and ring out in stark contrast to the whining of sirens and rumbling of trains.

i cannot imagine if i lived in the city. or a city larger than this one. my daughter has run in frightened by all the sounds at times, but she is beginning to settle down. so am i, i guess.

noise pollution is real. i hope someday to live in a place where silence is the only sound i hear when i choose to listen.