I usually walk alone. My wife and friends sometimes walk with me. However, the majority of time I am alone except for my constant companion.
Who is my companion? Very simple. Noise! Yes, noise is with me all the time when I walk. Vehicles, Sirens. Music, Planes and of course leaf blowers.
Vehicle noise comes in many sizes and shapes. The electric cars are quiet but still make noise. The faster they go the louder the noise. Then we have tires. Some tires are okay and other usually on four-wheel drive or trucks have a loud and annoying sound.
Then we have sirens. Stamford is the town of sirens. If I did not know better, I would say Stamford is on fire. The Firetrucks are always going around with the loud sirens. In most cases they are going to back up an ambulance or a false alarm
Then we have music. I am amazed at how loud some of our drivers like to have the music in their car. Some even have a giant boom box on the front seat blaring away. I do feel sorry for their hearing long term.
We are in the landing corridor for Westchester Airport. The jets fly low and south over Stamford and then turn right to start the final approach to runway 34. The jets are not too loud. They are a constant.
What can I say about leaf-blowers? Another constant. There always seems to be a leaf-blower in the neighborhood or along my walk.
The reason I write about noise is there were two occasions in the last month where I had silence. The first was at the Pound Ridge Reservations. A great place to walk by the way. I was walking up a hill on a trail and there was no noise. I was far enough away from road and there were no planes around. It was very eerily.
The second time it happened I was walking North on Stillwater Street just past Stillmeadow school. There was no traffic, no planes, just quiet. Then I heard birds singing. It was such a revelation there were dozens of birds singing. It was so nice to hear the singing without the distraction of Noise. Sadly, it did not last long.
Keep on Walking
Stamford By Foot 