Now that it’s open-window season, I’ve been thinking about noise and distractions. I don’t live in a particularly loud neighborhood, but as I write this post, I hear my neighbor’s fountain gurgle, birds chirping, and a steady, loud-ish buzz that sounds like some sort of belt sander and recurs throughout the day.
All this is punctuated by the occasional rawl of fighting cats and, less frequently but more alarmingly, fighting humans, slamming car doors or yelling into cell phones or shouting as they walk down the street. In New York, we pride ourselves on being able to tune out noise, but I think that’s largely a delusion, because I’ve lived here since I was 18 and every fall I have the same experience: shut the windows, turn off the fans, and marvel at the sudden hush. Or maybe it’s just transitions that are awkward — give me another few weeks, and I’ll no longer be distracted by the strange grunts and screeches of the squirrels, or even notice when an airplane passes overhead.
What noises do you hear throughout the day?












