So… I stripped the bed and laundered the bedding, had breakfast, took care of the cat, took my blood pressure, and did a bit of blogging. Then I decided to go out for a little bike ride. What a mistake that turned out to be.
I’ve lived in the same small town all my life, and I distinctly remember it used to be quiet and peaceful on a weekend morning in the summer.
I couldn’t hear myself think.
Everybody who had a leaf blower, weed whacker, power mower, or some other infernal machine was out there making noise for all he was worth. The more affluent residents–at least one on every single block–all hired “landscaping” crews with even bigger, even louder machines.
The din was terrible. Just awful. It sounded like Mordor had won the War of the Ring, and all the orcs were loose on Sauron’s birthday.
For the life of me, I can’t imagine why they want to do this. It’s not like anyone is ever outside, actually using his little bit of yard. The only time they come out, other than to go to work, is to make a frightful racket over their lawns. No one sits on his front porch, reading the paper and sipping lemonade. There are no children outside playing.
At least I wasn’t trying to write.That would have been impossible, this morning.
If people’s cars made as much noise as their lawn machinery, they’d all get tickets. I have no idea why they prefer ear damage to a bit of honest sweat — or a chance to let kids earn some money by working up the honest sweat for them. (Oh, but I suppose the feds would arrest the kids for working without an OSHA inspection, an environmental impact statement, and a trade license. And the adults who hired them would be fined for failing to file FICA, Workers’ Comp, and other payroll taxes.)
As for kids playing outside, kids don’t play any more. They have “play dates” and organized activities. And if they try to play outside by themselves, they get abducted — I mean “rescued” — by Child Services agencies because their parents have been guilty of leaving them unsupervised.
I don’t care if I get called an old fogey. Things really WERE better in a lot of ways when I was young. And kids were safer, too, not just from amateur predators but from the professional ones in the government.
Some of the cars around here are louder than the lawn machines. You never see them get a ticket.
I thank God that I didn’t have to have my childhood today. Too much like prison! If there was anything I hated when I was 10 years old, it was organized activities with adults peering over your shoulder to make sure you didn’t have any fun.
Our culture grows less and less human all the time.
It’s up to us old fogeys, while we live, to testify that yes, there used to be **a lot** better ways of doing things than there are now.
You nailed it, Phoebe!
Where we live, the landlord has a hired landscaping company, and they show up on any day they feel like it, and as early as possible so they can relish the fact that they’ve jarred everyone from their sleep. Between the riding mower-thingy, the weed whacker, and the leaf blower, one could have a breakdown.
When I cut my own grass, I had one of those old fashioned push mowers – you know, the ones with no motor at all. I loved it!
And it was peaceful!