Quiet

I talk a lot, especially when I get started on topics about which I care deeply or feel strongly. If you ask me a question about Ocracoke, you are likely to get an answer which is much more detailed (and longer!) than you expected, needed, or wanted! I also like to listen to music, and there are certain shows I enjoy on TV. What this all adds up to is that there is usually sound happening around me. I don't really notice it until it stops.

John left on the 12:30 ferry today for a trip to High Point. After he had been gone a while, I realized how quiet it was. I wasn't jabbering to him (I wasn't even yakking at the cats, which I do frequently too), and there was no background music or TV noise. It was a quiet Sunday on the island, too. The bikers who came through over the last couple of days, presumably on their way to or from the rally in Nags Head, seem to have gone home now, so the motorcycle sounds had ended. There wasn't much traffic after mid day; I suppose most people who had come to stay for the weekend headed back to their day-to-day lives and jobs as well. I enjoyed the silent time. I read several chapters of a good book, some while lying in my hammock, some while sitting in the screened porch, and a couple while sitting in my beach chair on the Springers Point beach as the sun set. I confess that after coming home from that beach time, I did turn on the TV. I just turned it back off after watching a couple of shows, and I am enjoying the peace again. I think I need to make more time in my life for quiet.