Truly Quiet Nights

Posted on February 22nd, 2004 in My Perfect World.

Sunday night, 10:20pm, I walk about downtown Corvallis along the riverfront. The air is still and cool with a light lingering mist. I relish each deep breath of timelessness. Not a single person is to be seen or heard. My light footsteps tap quietly on the wet sidewalk. Crickets chirp, the river flows… and yet off in the distance the constant sound of rumbling vehicles ruin an otherwise perfect moment.

In my perfect world, the sounds of automobiles would be quenched for at least one (if not all) night each week.

 

3 responses

  1. Katie says:

    Added on February 29th, 2004 at 11:25 am

    Scott-
    In Bologna, Italy, and in many other old European cities I guess, there are no private vehicles allowed within the ancient walls of the city center on Sundays. Only the buses may pass through and il centro is taken over by small groups of pedestrians strolling, often with arms linked, chatting or listening intently, no destination in mind. I remember the quiet and the stone and that feeling of timelessness. I don’t think I’ve ever felt it in the ‘civilized’ parts of this continent.
    -Katie

  2. L. Claudia says:

    Added on June 4th, 2004 at 5:56 pm

    I sympathize with your desire for nature’s peace. My family seem to be the only people within the reaches of our neighborhood who believe themselves physically capable of operating a reel mower (unless of course there are others who go undetected by their silence? I deem it too much to hope for in this society). I often try to enjoy my botanical haven outdoors which I labouriously created without the assistance of noise pollution machinery only to have bliss marred by the gas-powered mosquito. The clouds and creatures pass silently, while in the near and far distance the hum and grind of my neighbors’ lawn maintenance make themselves known. How often
    are these people observed enjoying the use of a lawn? They mow, they spray- really quite fine reasons to run back inside to hide from those of us who don’t appreciate noise, air and groundwater pollution, or soil erosion. Should I give myself
    relief by halting my dreams of the utopia where everyone mows thier lawn on the same day of the week?

  3. Scott says:

    Added on June 4th, 2004 at 6:22 pm

    Yes, I’ve long been perplexed with the whole lawn care culture we live in. It makes no sense to me the time, the money, the noise/air/water polution spent on achieving the perfect lawn. And for what? Like you said, most people are never seen on their lawn except when maintaining it. In the area I grew up in (northern Indiana) this was not only an important activity, but also a pivotal conversation topic. Stepping into the local tavern on a Sunday afternoon and it wouldn’t be long before you’d here the voice of a balding 50 something year old man with a pot belly telling his buddy all about yesterday’s grass cutting chores. Its sad, but I think without lawn care many of these people wouldn’t have a purpose or something to talk about.

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