Noon whistles and rotary phones

Every weekday, at noon, the aptly named noon whistle goes off downtown. It's actually more like an air raid siren, but everyone calls it a whistle. This is a common happening all across Wisconsin. From what I've been told, it serves the purpose of letting the farmers out in the fields know that it was time to head back to the house to eat lunch.

I spend most of my youth growing up in cities and affluent suburbs, an so had never heard the noon whistle before I arrived in Wisconsin. I am now in love with the sound.

It is a common practice in Zen Buddhism to take advantage of everyday sounds such this to take a moment to center yourself, and I find it really is quite calming...at least as calming as an air raid siren can be (our sounds like the first one in the link; try to imagine the second one isn't going off if you can). Whenever I hear it, wherever I am, I stop what I'm doing, take in a deep breath as the siren slowly builds in intensity, then exhale as it slowly winds down into silence. Most relaxing!

On the subject of wonderful sounds: I sometimes miss the rotary phone. I love to hear the rhythmic click, whirrrr, click, whirr, click, whirrr, click, whirrrrrrrrrr (that was a zero) in an old movie or TV show. Good directors use that sound to add to the atmosphere, and it is so better than the grating beeps and boops of touch-tones.

I hate those damn boops.


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Listening to: Matisyahu - King Without A Crown (Live Version)
via FoxyTunes