The Sounds of Silence

Today is the 15th anniversary of what we refer to as "911".  One of those events that usually initiates a conversation or thought..."I was...".  I do recall vividly where I was and what I was doing.  I was on a business teleconference in my office here in WL, a colleague in Indy and another in Pennsylvania were on the phone discussing whatever, the topic was quickly forgotten.  Someone in the Pennsylvania office had been on the net when the initial news broke about the attack in NY.  Business was quickly set aside, we were all struggling to make sense of the initial news and agreed to end the call.  I went to the nearest TV, and the rest, as they say, is history.

One of the almost immediate consequences was the shutting down of the entire air travel system.  If you didn't live here at the time it is hard to imagine.  Erie silence.  No airplanes landing, none taking off.  Nothing.  For me, the silence was not hallowed but scary.  It emphasized our vulnerability.  It focused the attack, it disrupted what was normal.  In the succeeding days, as I walked from the house to my office and back, I often stopped to listen...all there was, was the sound of silence.

At a few of the last Board of Aldermen meetings there have been comments/discussions regarding airplane noise, flights of planes "out of the box", and the demand by some to do something about it.  Alderman Richmond and Mayor Botbyl are both interested in gaining momentum in the community to keep flights from any incursion into WL airspace (neither btw lived here during 911).  Jerry Bos, when he was mayor, formed an Airport Noise Committee, with much fanfare.  There was an initial wave of enthusiasm, followed by settling in, followed by malaise, followed by eventual disbandment.

One of the reasons we moved to WL in 1999 was proximity to KCI.  Business required me to travel about 50% of the time, I grew weary of the trek from Brookside and even more weary of the trip, usually later in the evening back home.  I once calculated the time saved by living here versus Brookside, it was substantial.  I traded the noise of the city, police and ambulance sirens for the most part, for the sounds of being close to the airport.  Funny how the brain accommodates noise so that airplanes are hardly noticed?  Okay, we do get flights over WL on occasion.  Some I assume out of issues related to weather or other flight path concerns...some maybe not.

But to me, the sounds, when I notice them, are the sounds of commerce.  They are the sounds of friends and relatives coming and going, it is the sound of normal.  Some folks are apparently annoyed enough to complain to the Mayor and Alderman to take action...whatever that might be.

I am okay with the occasional fly-over, the noise doesn't bother me.  My fervernt hope is to never hear the Sounds of Silence and everything it may mean again.