I had just finished my radio program, playing 3 hours of some of my favorite music. I thought I would step outside and enjoy the peace of looking at the magnificent night sky.
The sky was beautiful. I could see the milky way. I could hear a neighbor scolding her dog. She sounded like a six year-old. It was bizarre. She was obviously taking out her frustrations on the dog. It was torture for the dog and my ears.
Things quiet down, I take a seat in the front yard and return to gazing at the sky. Ten seconds later this pickup truck comes careening up the road and stops 20 feet away from me. Then it lurches forward another 30 feet and stops again. This is like shattering glass to my peace.
I wait for people to emerge. No one does for several minutes. When they finally do, it’s apparent they are severely intoxicated. They amble back down the road, even stating “we are walking down the road” in a sing song voice. They disappear into Jay’s house.
At this point I decide there is more peace inside the house and come back inside, locking the door behind me.
My thinking 5 years ago was that I’d have more peace here than in the city. It’s nights like this I can’t wait for winter to quiet everything down.
Oct 26, 2011
It’s probably time to move.
I love living in the “wilds” though even up here on my little mountain, there are…disturbances in the Force.
Along the ridge a few houses from mine, I have this insane couple who can’t seem to go a day without running their frigging leaf blower, I’ll have the front door open, listening to the sounds of birds and the wind, then suddenly: bbberrrrr, bbberrrrr, bbbeerrrrr, bbbeerrrrr. Sometimes for over an hour. Seriously.
It’s definitely time for me to move–hence why the house is for sale, though I’m still clueless where I’m going next.
Tiny internal combustion engines get on my nerves pretty quickly. Fortunately no one around here is obsessed with them.
The population here in town doubles in the summer. The elevation and less dense air causes sound to travel farther. Hundreds of Harleys come up daily from Denver to escape the heat. The summer noise pollution can get a little overwhelming for me. Winter doesn’t have many bonuses, but it has the most peace and gives me one thing to look forward to.
I hope you’re able to find a new place that feels like home.
Wherever would you go next? Most of the time you seem reasonably happy there.
Ideally, perhaps the north side of town away from the highway or over the ridge to the next town to the south.