Noise

Noise. While leaving my apartment today, I was astonished at the decibel level of the racket coming from the street. My quiet little neighborhood wasn't quiet
at all. It seemed almost as though there were large machines, powered by explosions, being maneuvered every which way up and down, between the houses and sidewalks -- one after another in a constant parade of obnoxiousness and pollution. It still seems that way, in fact. To be exposed to this growing up, I would have wondered how anyone manages to think around here -- let alone sleep.