Sound of the Day
While standing and stretching in a rural gas station parking lot off the highway somewhere in between New York and Chicago, I noticed a river running through the back part of the property. As I walked towards the river, I could start to hear the sound of rushing water, and then I started to hear bird song. Scanning the tree-tops, I saw the source of one of the most intricate and beautiful sounds of spring, the cardinal, which most people identify as “that red one”. As I carefully walked closer to the beautiful red bird, I heard a second cardinal, who’s call was slightly different. The two birds, who I assume to be male and female, called to each other in a conversation-like manner for the next 10 minutes. While I stood there listening and enjoying the birds, I couldn’t help but notice that each time a tractor-trailer drove by on the adjacent highway, the sounds of nature were blocked from my ears, and replaced with the sound of 15 tons of steel rattling down the highway at 70mph. It kept distracting me from appreciating the bird song, but what I soon noticed is that it distracted the birds as well. With each passing of a truck, the birds stopped communicating with each other. Noise pollution affects all living things in some way, it seems. FInd silence, enjoy silence, because a silent moment is rare in our noisy world, and it can be the most important part of your day. Please enjoy our sound for the day.
Matt
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