Shhh

Have you ever noticed how damn near impossible it is to find a quiet place in the world today? Everywhere you go, there's such a level of noise that your head rings with it. Cars, horns, sirens, voices, music -- your own and everyone else's. You get put on hold, and there's music or, worse, commercials. You get on an elevator -- music. Cell phones ringing, people having private calls loudly enough for everyone within twenty feet to hear both sides. Conversations carried on as if they're in the middle of a train yard instead of a doctor's office or store.

My family's funny in that we can be quiet together. We're all big talkers, but we only talk if we have something to say. My mom and sisters and I can be satisfied sitting in a room or a car together for long stretches of time without speaking. It's not that we have nothing to say to each other; it's that we don't need to say anything. It's a companionable silence, and you don't find that often.

It sounds sappy, but silence can be golden . . . and seems about as hard to come by. Rachel7:16 PM