All the Noise, Noise, Noise, Noise!

Why is it that some noises can drive us climbing up the wall by our fingernails and others can be the sweetest sounds to kiss our eardrums?  I have a fickle relationship with noise.  I may sometimes be the noisiest thing in a quiet room but I'm---more often than naught---the quietest thing in a noisy space.

I've heard alot of noise lately.  We're having flooring installed at home and every bad noise that could possibly come with that followed.  By Day Two I had to escape!

Then, I heard more noise.

First, I packed a lunch (because noise and digestion are not compatible) and went to the park.  There I found alot of sounds I liked.  I was amazed to find that one dead leaf brushing against the armpit of a tree was, not only audible, but loud enough in this peaceful environment to make me spin around and "What's that?!"  The bullfrog I thought I heard was nothing more than a detached branch caught midfall and rubbing against a tree trunk, creating such a ribbit.  And, that very peculiar noise that sounded something like a waterfall---only one whose molecules had shifted, causing it to sound more like a solid-fall than a liquid-fall---ended up being two adorable baby squirrels chasing each other around the base of a tree.  Toenails clamping onto the bark in a downward spiraling motion.

I accidentally disturbed quite a few pairs of birds enjoying the Spring mating season.  I was merely hiking down the marked trails in an innocent manner, not wishing to offend.  But these avian flew away from me with such speed and attitude, you'd think I was an overprotective father busting up their session at Inspiration Point.  Wings wildly flapping, twigs violently swatted out of the way... now that was a sound!

Then I went to the library.  For a place whose national motto is, "Shhh...", there's certainly alot of noise going on in there.  There's guy who thinks he's obeying the "Do not hold cell phone conversations at the desk" sign, by slipping into the entry hallway and holding a thirty minute conversation loud enough to echo through the rest of the building.  The book cart with the squeaky wheel.  The shuffling of feet.  The schooching in and out of chairs.  The phone ringing.  The kids running by.

Then I went to my beloved Target to grab a few grocery items.  I'm now noticing the decibel level increasing with each bulletpoint of my day.  We all know the shopping noises.  Hundreds of conversations blurring into each other and taking place all at once. Cash registers, shopping carts, babies wailing, the "beep beep beep" that those tiny stock vehicles make.

I finished my quick stop and then proceeded homeward, only to find the flooring truck still in the driveway.  My peaceful sanctuary was still being molested by the sounds of power saws, vacuums, clunking and hammering.  The walls were practically vibrating, so I escape with my mother for a quiet walk around the neighborhood.

Boy, are those neighborhood kids noisy...