Life on earth was quieter before there were acres and acres of mono-cultures. When man began planting miles and miles of corn and wheat and soy, it required machines to handle the work, rather than human workers. Human workers also had to be fed and housed. The invention of farm machinery has supposedly saved farmers a lot of money, in addition to allowing them to grow excessive amounts of a single crop. Along with these modern conveniences; however, a great price is paid – the loss of peace and quiet. No matter where you live in the world in our modern times, you cannot escape the incessant noise of machinery, automobiles, trains, and planes.
My house sits a good half mile from a major interstate, but when my windows are open, the hum of traffic made by summer travelers, industrial equipment, and semis, rarely stops. The drone of their engines, accompanied by the slapping of their tires on the pavement, seems to move in waves, rising and falling…Everyday, the air is filled with the screeching of sirens added to the ever present rumble. The 80 MPH speed limit, combined with Wyoming’s infamous wind gusts, toss high profile vehicles about like plastic toys.
I was awakened the other night by young kids running and laughing in the street only a few yards from my bedroom window. I heard a mother calling to them to come inside, but they were apparently ignoring her. At long last, I heard car doors slamming shut and the revving up of a car, which then drove away. The sounds of children playing ceased, but was soon replaced by the yapping of the small dog (or dogs) that is a nightly occurrence. Apparently, either the owners do not hear it or the incessant barking does not bother them. There are two German Shepherds across the road that also bark whenever someone walks through the alley by their property. Another dog, across the alley barks at me each morning when I go out to fill the bird bath and feeders. Dogs that live in cities and towns must be confined to prevent them from being run over by an automobile. I like dogs, but I like them most when they belong to other people, because I like the quiet more. When they are kept in yards with privacy fences, they often become neurotic because they can hear and smell other people and dogs walking by, but they cannot see them. Nearly all homes are surrounded in a mono-culture of grass. Some have added trees, shrubs, and flowers in an attempt to replicate some of nature’s beauty. Mono-cultures, whether in a farmer’s field or in a suburban lot, have created noisy conditions in our lives. Living in town predisposes one to the ever present onslaught of noise, but to me, silence has always been golden and most of the time, it is something I can only dream of.
