I appreciate quiet, and I don’t need to have music playing when I’m doing anything especially writing. But I discovered the notion of ‘white noise’ some years ago to mask the noise that disturbs a sound sleep. You know, the distant train whistle, dogs barking, people snoring and a very old chest of drawers that insists on sending out periodic creaks.
(We used to have an antique chest that a neighbor’s family had stored in our living room after the woman passed away. Each night as we watched television, the chest—or the departed woman—would make itself know by creaking and groaning. Finally, the family retrieved the piece of furniture and we never did follow up with them about the racket.)
But back to white noise. I just purchased a new clock/radio/white noise gizmo and was shocked to see how the manufacturers define the term. There are the usual soothing sounds of ‘summer night,’ ‘brook’ or crickets on ‘summer night.’ I suppose you might consider ‘tide’ comforting, but ‘thunderstorm?’ On the creepy side, there is the ‘heartbeat.’ I know it is something that is suggested for babies and puppies but I’m sure I’ve heard it as background in some suspense movie. And then there is ‘city’ which sounds like traffic—exactly what I wouldn’t like to hear. The silliest one is ‘foghorns.’ The sound of a distant foghorn in my first visit to San Francisco was kind of charming. But this sound soother white noise machine foghorn is really loud!
End of rant.
On the positive side of life, I’d like to acquaint you with some fellow authors and a whole lot of cozy reads for the cold evenings.
Happy Reading,
Andrea
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