What I Hear

For this week's blog, I walked for a WHOOOLE hour, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, from 21st ave. and 62nd st. to 86th st., and then back to 62nd st., and tried to remember everything I heard.

I heard a lot of my own footsteps, cars passing by – some with music – and birds chirping in the background. The footsteps were consistent, since they were mine and are always under me. On the other hand, the cars and birds were inconsistent because the sound perspective of the cars started on one side and ended on the other, and there weren't birds on every block. Not too many trees grow in Brooklyn...

I remember hearing different footsteps of a family getting into their minivan, then one of the doors sliding, and then two doors slamming. They were talking about something too, but not loud enough for me to hear.

I walked under a tree with berries on the ground. I heard squishes under me because I was making juice out of them. It sounded like my shoes would probably be dirty by that time, but I won't go into that because I couldn't hear what color it was. No one was around to hear my profanity, but I sure was. It was definitely a soundmark of annoyance.

I heard the audio of someone's TV through their window. I couldn't tell what TV show it was because it was too far away. My hearing is kind of bad because I used to listen to music too loudly. There's usually nothing good on in the afternoon anyway. 

There was also a dog that suddenly ran up to the gate in someone's driveway. It was pretty close to me so it attracted my attention. It surprised me, too, but it didn't bark. I guess I kind of felt like I had automatic gain control, because I prepared myself for a loud noise but the dog didn't deliver. If weird tingles in my head made a sound, I think I would have heard a loud tingly sound.

One of the things I remember the most was something that was loud and smelled really bad, very close by. I know I'm not supposed to talk about smells, but saying something is loud and smells bad probably evokes a memory, which is a funny trick.
It was a gas truck. 

Yepp, nothing immature there.
The engine was very loud. It was like an extended, rough honk. I don't really know how to describe it. I guess if Transformers were real and they could growl, that's how it would sound like.

Most of the walk was pretty much my own footsteps, wind blowing, birds chirping, cars passing by, and one airplane passing by. There weren't many people around because it wasn't a commercial avenue.

As I approached my doorstep after my arduous trek, I could hear my sweat splashing off the pavement. This was an easy walk. It was a piece of cake. I could do this in my sleep, and I would have done it if I didn't have to pay attention to what I heard.

Oh, note to Sarah: Remember to read my Medium of Exchange blog entry below, please :)