One particularly amazing advancement of recent centuries has been in the human capacity to make a hell of a lot of noise. And why not: It calls attention to us, right? During the Industrial Revolution noise was progress. Today, noise is, "Hey, look at me, I'm the loudest thing in the room!"

It's not that I don't get it. I understand. Yelling and hooting are imperative. How else would people know that you are under the influence of some intoxicant, or high on life, liberty, or the pursuit of attention? And cell phones--ooooh!--they let everyone know you are popular!

This morning I got up to the sound of leaf blower, yesterday I believe it was a garbage truck. Isn't my alarm clock supposed to wake me up? Does the beeping of a truck backing up really have to be heard from a half mile away? Does the garbage truck make sure to smash bottles and slam itself around so I wake up? Someone seems to think so.

Leaf blowers let your neighbors know that you care about your lawn, and that you expect the same from them. Car alarms let others know that there is a car somewhere nearby, though not necessarily that there is a person anywhere near it. Horns let people know you have the ability to move your hand to the center of your steering wheel and apply pressure while still maintaining control of the vehicle. And because cars didn't already make enough noise, there are horns on them to be used for any variety of purposes, from giving warning, to harassment, or even support. I had a bus driver in high school who, instead of braking when someone pulled in front of her, would just apply the horn and let it do its job.

When there is a lack of sound, things become eerie, apparently. Everyone needs at least the humming of some appliance to keep them entertained. Maybe it drowns out all the erratic sounds, from feet thumping on stairs to TV commercial jingles. There is so much noise going on that the most common word used to respond to a question now is a question: "What?" We don't even hear important things. Truthfully, I guess I don't care about noise, too much, since I'm so used to it. I just sometimes wonder WHY. Is it just that we never really stop being babies, all of us crying for attention?