An observation I made in Ireland’s fair and green city of Dublin has to do with our auditory sense.
I was there with my zoo-keeper son, Simon, and since we were still using shank’s pony as our chief mode of transportation we encountered many pedestrian crossings and their subtle sounds of alert.
In London, the crossing lights beep rapidly and loudly when they turn green, and are silent on red and orange.
In Dublin, the town that thinks it’s a city, the crossing lights emit a continual low thrum when the button has been pushed alerting the internal computer or mechanism to the fact that someone wants to cross the road and arrive on the other side…alive!
When the little green man appears, showing us we can cross, the thrumming tempo changes. To the untrained ear it is hardly discernible from the “don’t cross yet” thrum but after hearing it a few times I was able to tell the difference.
In London the crossing beep can be heard from quite a distance, I see people step up the pace when the sound is registered by their ears. In Dublin the gentle thrum could only be heard when we were in the immediate vicinity of the crossing.
I wondered, as I forced marched us through the little city, whether the Irish were born with more superior hearing than the English or have we suffered serious ear drum damage from the high decibel levels of the emergency vehicle sirens that race through the streets of London at all hours?
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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