About the noise

   Dear Neighbors,
 
   Some of us don't need to get up at 4am. Or 4:30am. Really, We don't. Our day starts a little later than that, say around 7am. Or at least we would like it to start around that time. We go to bed early enough to wake up refreshed with our alarm each morning, but somehow it just doesn't work out that way.

   Take this morning. You were evidently sharing a ride to work this morning, but when your ride got there, you were not ready to go, so they blew the horn. And blew the horn. And blew the horn. Gotta admit, that is a pretty effective alarm clock. More effective than the dog, who barks for 20 minutes after he goes out to do his business while  shower is running in his household. I know, dogs bark and I get that. And there are mice that run alongside the fence and the garage and he likes to chase them and bark at them. Every morning. But I was finally sleeping through this morning ritual. The horn was new. And unwelcome.

   Especially after last night's firework display. Apparently the show truck down the street with the loud muffler and smokestacks that shoot fire won a car show or something, because at 11:30pm, they woke me up putting off a firework display and revving their engines in celebration of something. It was short lived, but I was awake and struggled to go back to sleep. And I did, for awhile.

   Bu then there was the slamming of a car door and an argument. I don't even have the window's open! Haven't for some time. Someone works nights and gets home at 2am, has a cigarette and talks loudly on the cell phone. Sometimes they play the music in their car with the door open before going in and heading off to bed. This time it is a slamming door and an argument over the phone that I can hear through closed windows. I admit, I don't just close the windows due to the noise, we also have a broken skunk in the area whose scent is stuck in the on position and seems to have a fondness for taking a pass down our block. I actually woke up gagging one night. Too bad the passes can't be timed for around 2am ish....

   It was once suggested that I move to the country, where I could enjoy peace and quiet to my heart's delight. But I am not a farmer and not entirely sure what we would do for work. I have always been a city kid and a heavy sleeper, but lately it has been to little avail. And I live in the suburbs for crying out loud! I would never dream of mowing my lawn at 5:30am, or working on the roof at 6am, or revving my motorcycle for fifteen minutes on the corner before the sun dared to shine. Heck, what am I talking about? I can't even get some decent sleep lately, let alone dream.

   Perhaps you don't realize how much your voice carries. You might talk quieter if you knew just how much of your intimate conversation I could repeat, word for word. Honestly. Maybe you are angry and getting even with the neighbors down the block who decided to have their trees taken out last Saturday and Sunday starting at 6am each morning on your precious days off when you get to sleep in. Maybe you never considered bonding with your dog in the morning for a few fulfilling minutes and letting him back in the house before you shower. And I get that it is not every day you have something worth celebrating.

   As I struggle through this Monday morning with my coffee in hand all I ask is that you think about others as your go through your daily routine. And please try to keep it down tomorrow morning. I don't have a particularly good sense of humor in the morning.