The Year I Ruled the World

A year of freedom and carpet burns

The only time I ever listen to the radio is when the tornado sirens go off. That only happens once or twice a year. I turn on the radio to hear the emergency weather reports. I then go outside to look up into the sky. The apartment building I live in has no basement or tornado shelter so if a tornado were to hit the building I would be toast.

My neighbor listens to the radio constantly. I think the first thing she does in the morning is turn on the radio. It is going constantly until she finally goes to bed. I can hear her radio from my bathroom. Luckily I can’t hear it from the rest of my apartment. I know other people like that. They have to always have either the radio or the TV on at all times. They seem to have a mortal fear of silence.

Not me. My apartment is a sanctuary of silence. If the windows are open birdsong can be heard (especially in the morning) along with occasional traffic noise, the thrice daily sound of trains coming through town, and the 3:30 pm sound of children walking home from school. If the windows are closed the only sound is the air conditioner and the sound of my fingers typing frantically on the keyboard of my laptop.

I just don’t listen to music anymore. I have become too addicted to silence.