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Kitchen Table Kibitzing June 14,2026 [1]

['Side Pocket', 'Meteor Blades', 'News Corpse', 'Angela Marx', 'Sabrina Haake']

Date: 2026-06-14  

Noisy World

In our 50 years on the farm, noise wasn’t much of a factor. Sure, there was noise from farm equipment, but it was OUR farm equipment, so it was not a bother. The planes were at a noiseless high altitude, and only helicopters were noisy. We were far from the road, so even traffic noise was muffled.

Here in the heart of the city there are traffic sounds almost constantly from a major road, but I got used to them quickly. We are one mile from the fire station, but the sirens from there are rather comforting. Loud music is prohibited and since the HOA (me) is the enforcer, this has not been a problem. The real problem is screaming kids in the pool, but we have double pane windows, and, reflecting on it, I screamed in the pools as a kid myself.

In 1981, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that half the US population lived in areas with traffic noise from road, rail, or air significant enough to cause health problems. Our local paper’s LTE section is filled with complaints about our airport. As air traffic increases, routes are changed, affecting new neighborhoods. Another area of contention locally has been short-term rentals, where non-residents have loud music till all hours. Even the music from our benign local farm markets has been criticized.

I know some of y’all still live in quiet rural areas, but sometimes there are barking dogs or firearm sounds. And of course…..crows. How’s your neighborhood, or, how’s your sound tolerance? I have a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones, and they actually work as advertised; a blessing.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/14/800055409/community/kitchen-table-kibitzing-june-142026/

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