HOW INTENSELY THEY HEAR IT EVEN THERE.
IT SEEMS THAT NO LESS THAN WE, WHO LIVE CLOSE BY.
SHE IS OMNIPRESENT –THIS GODDESS OF FILTH!
ANOTHER FRIEND MOVED WITH HIS FAMILY TO OUR STREET JUST TEN METERS AWAY FROM THE HIGHWAY.
... AND ALTHOUGH THEY MOVED AGAIN THREE YEARS LATER TO A BETTER HOUSE THIRTY KILOMETERS AWAY, THEY SAID THAT THE MAIN REASON FOR THE NEW MOVE WAS NOT THE NOISE.
THE HOUSE WAS EASILY SOLD.
PEOPLE WANTED IT BADLY.
INDEED, THE LOCATION IS JUST A FEW MINUTES AWAY FROM ALL PARTS OF THE CAPITAL CITY.
I WARNED THEM ABOUT THE NOISE EVEN BEFORE THEY GOT HERE. IT WAS NOT CLEAR TO ME WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO MOVE TO SUCH A LOCATION. BUT WHAT DO I KNOW, MAYBE A PERSON STARTS TO BE BOTHERED BY THE HIGHWAY ONLY AFTER TEN YEARS OF LIVING NEAR IT. OR I'M SIMPLY OVERCOMPLICATING STUFF.
IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME.
BUT SOUND POLLUTION, ECOLOGISTS SAY, IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM OF MODERN CIVILIZATION. IT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ANXIETY AND OTHER MENTAL ISSUES. IT AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF LIVING AND THE JOY OF LIFE.
I DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT LIFE IN GENERAL. I HAVE A NICE JOB (I WORK AT HOME, IN AN OFFICE WITH MY OWN ENTRANCE), AS WELL AS A WONDERFUL WIFE AND ADAUGHTER.
THE ONLY THING THAT ANNOYS ME IS THE HIGHWAY.
YOU HEAR IT EVEN
WHEN YOU WANT TO BRING IN SOME AIR.
CARS ARE CONSTANTLY SWIRLING FINE PARTICLES, AND GAS EMISSIONS ARE ALSO NOT NEGLIGIBLE.
IT IS NECESSARY TO VACUUM MUCH MORE OFTEN THAN IN APARTMENTS, WHERE THERE ARE NO ROADS NEARBY.
OF COURSE WE'D LIKE TO MOVE.
BUT WHERE?
AND AT WHAT COST?
THINGS WERE AND REMAIN COMPLICATED.
ALTHOUGH I EARN ENOUGH NOW, IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THAT.
THE ONLY REALISTIC OPTION WAS TO RENT.
BUT SINCE WE HAD A HOUSE, I DIDN'T WANT TO PAY RENT TO ANYONE.
I DIDN'T GET TO A STABLE PROFESSION AND INCOME QUICK ENOUGH.
NO ONE WAS WILLING TO GIVE A LOAN TO A YOUNG SELFEMPLOYED PERSON IN THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS: SOCIALISM AND CAPITALISM.
WOULD THEY GIVE IT NOW AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF ENTERPRENEURSHIP, WHEN FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY IS APPROACHING? WHAT WOULD I DO IF I WERE A BANKER?
I GOT NOTHING FROM MY ANCESTORS, SO ALL THAT WAS LEFT FOR ME WAS TO COMPLETELY RESTORE MY PARENTS' HOUSE TOGETHER WITH MY WIFE –BOTH FOR OURSELVES AND FOR THEM.
WE REPLACED THE ROOF, WINDOWS AND RADIATORS AND MADE INSULATION WITH NEW FACADE. THE HOUSE IS BEAUTIFUL, THE PROXIMITY TO THE CITY IS EXCELLENT,
IF ONLY THERE WAS NO NOISE...
IT FOLLOWS YOU DURING THE DAY WHEN YOU WEED THE GARDEN,
... WHEN YOU WASH THE CAR,
... WHEN YOU LIGHT THE GRILL,
... WHEN YOU'RE REPAIRING YOUR BICYCLE,
...
OR WHEN YOU DRINK COFFEE WITH YOUR PARENTS IN THE ATRIUM.
SOMETIMES YOU HEAR AN EXPLOSION DURING THE DAY.
UNFORTUNATELY, SIRENS ARE PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE.
SOMETIMES I WONDER HOW ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES OF SOUND AFFECT PLANTS AND OUR CAT WILLY. DOES IT ANNOY HIM?
IS HE EVER SO HUNGRY BECAUSE THIS WAY HE COMPENSATES THE ANXIETY HE GETS FROM ALL THE NOISE?
'COURSE. BONKERS!
THERE'S NO OUTSIDE ACTIVITY, WHICH DOESN'T GET ACCOMPANIED BY THE THUNDER FROM THE HIGHWAY...
... SO DESPITE THIER BEAUTIFUL GARDENS, MOST PEOPLE DON'T SPEND MUCH TIME OUTSIDE.
OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS.
THE MOST CONVENIENT HEALING PROCESS I HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS IS CYCLING.
I CLIMB THE HILLS WITH MY MOUNTAIN BIKE, INSTANTLY FEELING WHEN I HAVE REACHED THE HEIGHT, WHERE SILENCE OVERWHELMS ME.
EVEN ON VACATIONS, I IMMEDIATELY PERCEIVE PEACE AND QUIET.
IN A SPA, FOR EXAMPLE. THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE I DON'T USE THE EARPLUGS AT NIGHT.
THROUGH TIME I'VE LEARNED TO APPRECIATE THE NATURAL SOUNDS: CRICKETS, THE WAVES OF THE SEA, THE SOUND OF THE RIVER...
ALL THIS HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT.
I CARRY EARPLUGS WITH ME EVERYWHERE, AND OF COURSE I'VE BEEN KEEPING THEM BY MY BED AT HOME ALL THE TIME.
FOR MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS.
BEACUSE YOU CAN HEAR THE HIGHWAY EVEN AT NIGHT.
BOTHERS ME IN THE BEDROOM, IN THE LIVING ROOM, IN THE CHILD'S ROOM, IN THE BATHROOM...
WITHOUT QUALITY SLEEP, THERE IS NO QUALITY WAKEFULNESS, SO I SOMETIMES GO TO REST DURING THE DAY AS WELL.
