I just checked - as of Dec. 3, 2021, it's been 18 years of blogging independently.
I periodically affiliate with other bloggers. One such relation is at Liberty's Torch, where I join Fran Porretto in jousting with the Enemies of the Republic - The Left.
And a whole lot of other AF people - Anti-Freedom, that is.
But, also, I blog about books I've read, local happenings, culture, family history, and an occasional random rant.
Like this one.
I'm generally anti-noise. I like a quiet environment. My absolutely favorite place to spend time is a library; second choice is an uncrowded coffee shop, patrons engaged with a screen or book.
I don't rise to THIS level. But I can appreciate his concern.
I actually have a high tolerance for the appropriate noise of children at play - at play in the proper places - parks, amusement centers, rec rooms, outside, letting off steam. That is play, and it's appropriate.
I have less tolerance for adolescents on the streets, cussing and boasting in loud voices. As long as they keep moving, I don't get all that concerned. It's when they sit in place, and make it impossible for anyone else to enjoy themselves, that I object.
Still worse is the music - loud, hard to make sense of, filled with expletives and abuse of women. If they want to kill off their hearing, fine. Just don't play it so loud it ruins mine.
I mention all this, as I had one of those epiphanies today. My husband had left for work (he is subbing at local schools), and I closed and locked the door, then searched for the remote. I clicked, then heard it.
Silence. Blessed silence.
DAYS, even WEEKS can go by without my having artificial noise in my home. He once left for a 2 week workshop, and, before leaving, unplugged the TV for something he was doing.
When he returned, his first act was to turn on the TV. When he finally found the cause of the TV being off, he asked me, "Why did you unplug the TV?"
He couldn't believe that I hadn't bothered watching for 2 weeks. He seldom goes a day without turning it on.
He'd grown up in a house like that, with the TV always on (there were 8-9 people present when he was living there, so someone was always watching something). One time, when I was visiting with his parents, his mother walked into the room, and noticed that I'd turned the TV off. She asked me why I'd done that.
"The show I was watching was over." That was the standard when I was young. My mother was perfectly happy to have it off, as were the rest of my family.
Her reply, that I should NEVER turn it off during the day, dumbfounded me. It still strikes me as strange.
I don't normally listen to music, not during the day as a background sound, nor at night, as an aid to sleep. I've tried the 'white noise' options (suggested to dim the constant tinnitus I experience), but I prefer no outside noise. I've gotten in the habit of using a sleep mask, no matter what the time of year or how much light there is at bedtime. I like the Dark, Quiet feeling of being cocooned in my bed.
Sleeping with another is hard, but worth it for the relationship. It does ground and connect me to my husband. I'll be getting a dog soon (inherited from my daughter, who is transferring to an order that makes ownership of a pet difficult - she will be highly mobile for the next few years). I don't mind. Chino (short for Cappuchino) is an older dog, placid of temperament, housebroken, and trained in basic commands. He loves my house, and has claimed my bed, with its fuzzy white blanket as His Place.
I plan to use his presence as a goad to taking regular walks. It should make it easier to up my fitness.
On another note, I've always considered my ability to focus intensely on tasks as a sign that I do not have attention deficits. I may be wrong about that. I do see myself in this description of someone who loses time online, and finds it hard to change my focus. On the positive side, some of the suggestions for re-directing my attention to more necessary tasks are things I already do.
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