Too Quiet

The quiet creeps me out sometimes.

It was never quiet in our Brooklyn apartment. We lived on a busy corner, so in the daytime you could always hear the chatter of the people on the sidewalk. In the summer, patrons of the restaurant and bar downstairs provided a pleasant hum. In the winter, the radiators pounded. At Christmastime, the pharmacy downstairs and a few doors over piped carols over a speaker. Throughout the year there were the horns of the ships in the bay, the creaking floors above us and, of course, always the traffic -- buses, garbage trucks and regular old cars.

If you happened to wake up at about 3 in the morning, you might catch a couple of moments of quietude. Until a car alarm interrupted.

Columbus, by comparison, is silent. I think it's funny when anyone complains about the noise from nearby Route 315 -- I barely notice it unless it's pointed out. I also often hear the distant train horns at night, which I actually enjoy. Reminds me of those ships in New York.

Traffic is moderate. If I hear an outdoor noise, it might just be one of the neighbors opening a garage door. Lately the most annoying noise has been a few empty branches brushing against a side window on our house.

As annoying as the cacophony was when we first moved to New York, I miss it. Sometimes the quiet here is just too quiet.