I’m a writer. I like my peace and quiet. I need my peace and quiet. I can’t think/focus/create when there’s one of the following noises:
- Barking dog.
- Garbage truck backing up.
- Air conditioner thumping.
- TV on in another room.
- Anybody talking anywhere.
I’ve been blessed (or cursed, depending on your perspective) with freakishly good hearing. Michael insists I could hear a bird shit in the woods of, say, Australia. I’m sensitive to sounds of all sorts, true enough, but the one sound that drives me absolutely insane is the buzz of a chainsaw.
When did this object of torture become the instrument of choice by gardeners and landscapers? I know it’s been around for years, but it just seems as if a day – no, make that an early morning – doesn’t go by without me throwing up my hands in frustration when I hear that thing going off. Can’t anybody do any work by hand? Must they pollute my quietude by firing up their chainsaws and destroying my concentration? Can’t the manufacturers produce a chainsaw that doesn’t break eardrums, the same way car companies have taken down the noise level of engines, as in hybrids?
Right this minute, as I type this, a neighbor’s chainsaw is sawing right through my brain. I’m dying to walk over and stomp on the thing, but I’m way too well-mannered. Sadly.
