 |
| OAFS Photo |
There is something to be said for the silence of a cold, overcast winter's day in December. Away from the noise of the city and suburbs it gives me a sense of peace, of calm that lets me escape from the woes and cares of everyday existence. Such as they are.
Kids and grandkids went out on an excursion, The Missus Herself is napping, and I'm outside, wandering around, doing nothing except watching and looking.
Saw a couple of squirrels doing squirrel things in the nearby wood, there was also a woodpecker of some sort, pecking wood. No doubt seeking sustenance wherever it can be found.
Sure, modern life isn't far away. The occasional car driving past on the street, which is some distance from where I stood. Plus the occasional aircraft from Baltimore Washington International, which isn't far away.
But even those sounds are muffled, perhaps by the cold, I don't know and I don't care, it simply is and it's something to be savored.
For back home, though I love the place, it's always noisy. Police and ambulance sirens, some idiot man-child revving his over powered engine and, far too often, two or more idiot man-children racing their cars on the streets of the town. Yes, I don't like that concept, far too often it ends with someone being hurt, or dying, in a crash. Life is too short for that nonsense.
Feel the need for speed? Join a racing club, they have those ya know, don't endanger the citizens with your infantile automotive antics.
Had that happen once at Chez Tuttle et Nuke, we were outside and we could hear loud engines off in the distance. Eventually they showed up in the quiet neighborhood, roaring down the dead end street (about a mile further on it loops back) making hellacious noises and traveling at a speed well in excess of the speed limit.
Numerous phones came out to take pictures and call the local constabulary. I noted that both vehicles had illegal tinted covers over the license plates on the back and no license plates on the front. All the windows were heavily tinted, even the windshield. Don't know if the police ever caught up to them or not. Silly idiots will eventually kill themselves or go to prison after killing someone else, that type always seems to. Knew a few of that type hoodlum back in the day, none of them survived to their 30s.
Anyhoo, it's quiet here right now, and it's oh-so-pleasant.
 |
| Christmas Lives on! OAFS Photo |
 |
| OAFS Photo |
 |
| Chez Tuttle et Nuke OAFS Photo |
 |
| OAFS Photo |
Sounds like a nice, lazy, contemplative meader in weather that's perfect for it. Nice looking neighborhood, but to this CA native, way too much vegetation. Looks unnatural to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteClassic Eastern woodlands. What most of the East looked like before Columbus.
DeleteBack in my deputy days, an EVOC ( Emergency Vehicle Operator's Course ) instructor told me he would ride in a pursuit with me anytime. I am very good at that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteBut I hated every one. Most pursuits only last a mile or two, until they wind up in the ditch, or tree. Races often end the same way.
Street racers are horrible eejits.
DeleteHow managed by the control room are your pursuits? In the UK they are highly managed although the pendulum has swung towards allowing contact to be used to end pursuits. A pursuit is fraught with danger for all concerned and you have to strike a balance between the risks to the public of allowing a pursuit to continue and the risks of calling the pursuit off, in the end it's a judgment call. I should add I was never advanced driver trained and in the Uk it's a very hard course.
DeleteRetired
Varies by jurisdiction.
DeleteA good report to share over coffee. Sad that Jr thugs must show off their egomobiles.
ReplyDeleteAs EMS when I was working in Fayetteville NC we got to respond to those folks fairly often. Here in the lakes region of NH far less. Might be because of a lower population and thus their antics become well known across the county. Funny how idiots like that around here have constant "vehicle problems".
Enjoy the peace and quiet friend
NH lakes region? God's country up there!
DeleteAs we call them over here 'Boy Racers'. Every few days there's a report of several males in their teens or twenty's killed after a crash. It never stops and drug driving is on the increase, still it's young males and those of us who were young males often engaged in risky behaviour didn't we? Most of us learned lessons, some didn't.
ReplyDeleteRetired
Those who survived ...
Deleteand one or two I knew became AF/Navy pilots
DeleteThey must have learned something.
DeleteWe have those street idiots here. You can hear them racing on both the city streets and on the interstate. I wait, often, to listen for the inevitable 'rrrrRRRRRRRRRR boom' as their engines rapidly disassemble. I have gotten to hear that a couple times.
ReplyDeleteThe really funny thing is all of that loud exhaust bullscat screws up the engine. The factory exhaust is tuned to provide the correct back-pressure to make the system work perfectly. Futz with that and, sure, it sounds... 'great' (for values of 'great' that do not make sense to me) but the engines don't produce as much power.
And then there are the cars vibrating themselves apart with loud but crappy sound systems.
I've always liked bog-standard vehicles. 'Performance' is overrated, for their values of 'performance.' I like comfort, carrying capacity and reduced need for work.
You and I are much alike as concerns what we look for in a vehicle.
DeleteSarge, one of the nice things about New Home 2.0 is that we can easily get to the "less traveled" areas pretty quickly - even our neighbourhood, although a suburb, can feel quite isolated given the right time of day (which is usually when I walk). We have vaguely started talking about longer term plans, and I think that one for both of us is not being in quite such a built up place. That said, we are within 20 minutes of at least four nature trails.
ReplyDeleteBeing close to nature is a big plus!
Delete