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05/27/2003 Archived Entry: "NOISES HAVE CHANGED"

NOISES HAVE CHANGED

We moved into this house 26 years ago when things were quite different at this corner of town. For one thing, it was very quiet as there wasn't much activity around here. There was no prison or hospital and nothing to create any traffic other than people coming to and leaving town. Traffic was slow and easy and the Y shaped intersection had been a presence for many years.

That all changed with the construction of the prison and the increased activity that came about because of it. Buildings were constructed near by. Then the hospital was built a few years ago further increasing the traffic at this end of town. Traffic can get pretty brisk around here at times with employees coming and going to work.

The sirens are most notable especially when they call out all the emergency vehicle crews at one time. We do have our share of sirens in this town, but at least they aren’t blowing the town's emergency sirens to call volunteer firemen to duty as once they did, even during the middle of the night. There is nothing to complain about as we're very fortunate to have a new hospital with emergency medical services available, an excellent volunteer fire department, law enforcement and all the other services who need to crank up a siren now and then.

And those are all good things, but I do notice the noise from the traffic that once wasn't very noticeable. There are rumble strips that carry the noise of vehicles crossing over them. It’s like an echo when I hear a car hitting the first batch heading north, then turn and hit the second batch of strips going east. That noise carries for long distances, but I think the strips are a very good thing.

The hidden noise of car stereos is something I can feel in the house. It’s a rumble you can feel in your body and a concussion to the head without really hearing a lot of sound. I don’t think these kids have any idea what it’s like to be deaf, but surely they will be when they are older. It’s bound to happen.

There are endless streams of big trucks and semis that once were a rarity. When they stopped sending everything by rail and switched to trucking, it made a big difference every where on our highways. I’ve never tried to drive one of those huge monsters, but I know from the sounds I hear from the gears about how to do it. Then there are Jake brakes.

This is the after-effect of progress. It was bound to happen. All we can do is plant more trees to help muffle the sounds. Trees are good as they help reduce sounds and clean our air of exhaust fumes. And if you plant enough of them, you can pretend you are living in a tree house.