Quiet
Sometime in February or March, I was riding back to work from some meeting or lunch in Boston. I pulled to a stop at the corner of Hampshire and Columbia, as the light had just turned red.
Then the strangest thing happened. For a few moments, it was absolutely silent. No cars pulled up, no one was walking down the street or entering a shop, no planes were overhead, and the drone of 93 was too far away to be noticed. It's funny, even when out camping or riding in the woods you can typically hear some noise, whether natural or man-made.
It was an unusual moment and I'm glad I caught it.
On the topic of sound, last night I had another funny noise experience. I had gotten sick on a bike ride (still not sure what happened) and I was wiped out so I went to bed despite intending to listen to Game 7. (I don't care enough about basketball to actually hook up the TV, but my Boston pride made me feel I should at least listen). It was the 3rd quarter and Boston was ahead when I got in bed. But I couldn't sleep and figured I might hear some of the celebration...even though we're not in town, there might be some yelling, cheering, whatever. Well, I heard a bunch of booming noises and assumed they were fireworks. It was right around the time that cars started driving around again, marking that the game was over - and I just guessed that maybe people wouldn't go around honking out here.
Of course when I woke up Nick told me right away that the Celtics had lost.
So either we have secret LA fans in the neighborhood, or there are always gentle booming noises if you listen hard enough.
In other noise news, there was a baby bird outside before dusk making the most enormous racket. I haven't figured out who it is yet, but vuvuzela choruses have nothing on begging baby birds!
Then the strangest thing happened. For a few moments, it was absolutely silent. No cars pulled up, no one was walking down the street or entering a shop, no planes were overhead, and the drone of 93 was too far away to be noticed. It's funny, even when out camping or riding in the woods you can typically hear some noise, whether natural or man-made.
It was an unusual moment and I'm glad I caught it.
On the topic of sound, last night I had another funny noise experience. I had gotten sick on a bike ride (still not sure what happened) and I was wiped out so I went to bed despite intending to listen to Game 7. (I don't care enough about basketball to actually hook up the TV, but my Boston pride made me feel I should at least listen). It was the 3rd quarter and Boston was ahead when I got in bed. But I couldn't sleep and figured I might hear some of the celebration...even though we're not in town, there might be some yelling, cheering, whatever. Well, I heard a bunch of booming noises and assumed they were fireworks. It was right around the time that cars started driving around again, marking that the game was over - and I just guessed that maybe people wouldn't go around honking out here.
Of course when I woke up Nick told me right away that the Celtics had lost.
So either we have secret LA fans in the neighborhood, or there are always gentle booming noises if you listen hard enough.
In other noise news, there was a baby bird outside before dusk making the most enormous racket. I haven't figured out who it is yet, but vuvuzela choruses have nothing on begging baby birds!