Barbara J. Hamby

Noise Worship

When did we become a culture that worships noise? I’ve noticed it’s becoming more and more difficult to find quiet corners in which to think. What a concept—thinking! Everywhere I go, there’s someone with a cell phone that’s either ringing or glued to an ear.

We live in a corner apartment with a view of a several block area in two directions, so when I look out windows in the morning or evening there are joggers and walkers (with and without dogs) skate boarders, scooter riders, bike riders, etc. going in all directions. Many cut through our parking lot, to my chagrin. I’m always fearful I’ll hit someone I can’t see, even though my neck still turns pretty well. But I digress.

At the swimming pool, some bring cell phones to pool’s edge, lest they miss responding immediately to a call. Some bring radios or tape or CD players to assault the ears of other hapless swimmers. One or two actually ask for permission to fill the air with sound pollution.

There is one middle-aged couple who come to our hot tub spa and talk in loud voices. One, or both of them, may be hard of hearing. Anyway, if they get there before I do, I pass the spa by. The fact that she usually ignores the shower before she races to the hot tub is a contributing factor, also.

As a writer, I value quiet time for reflection and possible idea generation. I’ve been intrigued when reading writer’s newsletters on line, that many modern writers have to have music in the background to create. I find it distracting and often am singing along rather than concentrating on my work.

But I guess that shouldn’t be surprising. I’ve been outside the box most of my life. I didn’t dig dolls as a kid, but had my nose in books instead, even with a flashlight under the covers, in bed. I’ve always been neither a trendsetter nor follower.

Perhaps my exceptionally good hearing, in the past, made noise more distasteful to me than to others. The Fourth of July firecrackers have always been a pain, literally and figuratively. This year seemed quieter than many. If the economy is the reason, at least that’s one good side effect.

Maybe our world’s in such a mess that noise is required to distract the masses from reality. How sad.