Sometimes I wonder what life must have been like before the Industrial Revolution. I'm not talking about the lack of modern conveniences, I'm talking about the noise these things generate every day on a continual basis, some of which we don't even consciously hear anymore but only notice when we're removed from it. Like when we lie on a beach, or spend a few days in the country.Yeah, like I ever get to do that. I thought that's what my hammock was for. Silly me...
With the introduction of the second AC turbine to our neighborhood, silence has become a thing of the past, or at least for as long as summer lasts. These things are huge: they're tall enough that they have a ladder scaling up one side for maintenance issues and they must be 30 feet around. And there's one on either side of the corner we live on. The older, pre-existing one at least turns off when the temperature gets below 74° or so, but the new one never.turns.off. Ever. Day and night it whirs on and on incessantly regardless of the temp. I'll bet they're going to hate their electric bill next month.
But there are other machine noises that accost us every day. Blow dryers, refrigerators & ice makers, the AC/heat, dishwashers, washers and dryers -- hell, I don't even hear the noise from the computers anymore.
I sleep with ear plugs. I've had to do so for over eight years and I've kind of gotten used to them. In fact, I've kind of grown to like being in my own little world of silence as I'm fighting to fall asleep, but now, as soon as I'm up and at my computer, I have to stick ear buds into my ears and listen to my favorite net radio. Something's always in my ears and they're sore.
Sure, I'd love to be able to afford some Bose noise-canceling headphones and I'd love to sleep without the ear plugs for just one week. I'd really love to have just one day of absolute silence, but as the saying goes, that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. There's just too much noise and, as much as I love music, I'd still like to hear nothing sometimes. For one thing, I don't think the constant input is particular healthy on a subconscious level. That's why I've never slept with the TV on; the brain has to get a break from processing things once in a while in order to give us the rest we need. There's just no rest anymore around here.
And there's no enjoying the veranda anymore, either. Who can do that when crushed inside a wind tunnel? We were planning on buying this house, but that's no longer an option. I'm thinking about a little house on an acre out on Jardot Rd. north of town. I mean, if Vienna doesn't happen. Urban noise is a different thing. One expects it. Not so in a house on the outskirts of town where there's very little traffic.
I know that my ears are more sensitive than a lot of other people's and I try to remember that, but it's hard. I also don't really like the isolation that ear plugs and ear buds impose on me. I'm a social monkey, you see, and I rather like being an active participant.
