HUSH!!! That\’s too loud! I wish I could get everything to hush; or at least to tone it down considerably.

Noise pollution is a serious problem these days; and we often don\’t realize how noisy our environment is. Once I sat down for about 20 minutes, and recorded every noise interruption as it occurred; and there was at least one such disturbance per minute! Humans weren\’t mean to live in such a din; but if we were, we\’d all be as deaf as snakes!

Earplugs do only so much good; and some things are so horribly loud that earplugs aren\’t nearly enough protection for me. That\’s one reason why I avoid riding alongside traffic as much as I can. And I often wish I didn\’t live one block from the railroad tracks; with numerous crossings within a mile or so of here. Train horns are very loud!

A few days ago I read something about Quiet Parks International. Those places sound wonderful; and I wish I could visit one. Even better would be living in one!

I understand that Quiet Parks has a requirement of a maximum of one human-made sound — such as motor vehicles — per 15 minutes; and I suspect that few places can qualify. My own abode would fail that test!

In this heat I need the air conditioner; and activities such as cooking generate a certain amount of noise. I don\’t have a blender;

but of course I have a fridge; and refrigerator motors aren\’t the quietest things around. Even bicycles aren\’t completely quiet; and I wonder whether I\’d be allowed to ride one through a designated Quiet Park.

\”Stop and smell the roses,\” they say. How about let\’s hush; give our ears a break; and listen to Nature!