Thursday, June 18, 2015

Summer Sounds and Silence



That's late August, 2001 when our family spent our first in nearly fifteen years in Hilton Head, South Carolina. In this photo, my father was entertaining Henry and his cousin Mary by puffing up his cheeks and blowing the air out with a loud and goofy noise. I remember that Henry and Mary were hysterical, over the top amused when he made the noise and then falling silent and expectant as he worked up to doing it again. And again. All of us were beside ourselves with laughter. It's a happy, happy memory.




What you can't see in the above photo and, of course, hear is the sound of Come On Down! that ancient game show refrain that apparently remains very seductive, even in 2015. I have good memories of getting up during the summer and watching game shows on television when I wasn't at the neighborhood pool playing Marco Polo. Oliver, I'm sure, has fantasies of winning all manner of material goods and has asked me numerous times whether he can be a contestant on The Price is Right, but it was Sophie's rapt attention to it that freaked me out. Sophie generally has no interest in television or movies, but she was into this program, and I literally tiptoed back and forth so as not to distract her.



Then there's the lazy no-sounds of summer where you just lie down on your soft bedroom rug and sleep for a bit.

Reader, tell me what you hear on a typical summer day.
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12 comments:

  1. ClaireJune 18, 2015 at 5:18 PM

    I love the way you dress her. She always looks beautiful, fashionable and comfortable.

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  2. Ms. MoonJune 18, 2015 at 5:43 PM

    The constant sound of the air conditioner, the crickets, the frogs, the birds. Tonight the grandsons screaming in delight.
    I hope to hear silence at some point. Please god.

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  3. Denise Emanuel ClemenJune 18, 2015 at 7:19 PM

    Moaning. Talking to the dead. Hahahahaha. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds. The moaning is intermittent now instead of constant. And she only talks to the dead when she's asleep or half-asleep.

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  4. 37paddingtonJune 18, 2015 at 7:38 PM

    A lovely antidote to current events. Thank you.

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  5. gradydoctorJune 18, 2015 at 7:53 PM

    Laughter. Zachary bouncing his basketball over and over and over again outside with little breaks of silence when he shoots. Video games interrupted by me demanding they be shut off. Harry snoring. Or watching all forms of Alaskan wilderness reality shows. iTunes playing "Watch me whip, watch me Nae Nae" while my kids do both dances. Again. And again. The water dispenser on the fridge. The beep-beep of the door opening and closing. Unfortunate big, black carpenter bees that crash into our sunroom windows. Ambulance sirens near Grady because hot weather means crazy behavior and traumas. Me typing emails because our intern and med student orientation happens in the summer. xo, Kimberly P.S. I like the way Sophie dresses, too.

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  6. AllisonJune 18, 2015 at 8:03 PM

    I hear the air conditioner, which has been running ALL DAY because it is so hot here! I am looking forward to being far enough north that it will be cooler.

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  7. My life so farJune 18, 2015 at 8:46 PM

    Katie doesn't watch TV either but two weeks ago I took a short video of her and showed it to her. She stopped and watched it, first time ever.

    I hear the birds through the open window, the crows and magpies talking to each other, discussing the cuisine of the day no doubt. I hear the robins as well, long into the evening. It's almost ten and the sun has still not set yet. We spent the evening with our granddaughter Arijana, listened to her laughter and her irritation. I listened to the sprinkler and dug in the dirt. It was a lovely evening.

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  8. ElsewhereJune 19, 2015 at 12:02 AM

    Soft rain falling into my little pond, frogs making appreciative sounds

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  9. MwaJune 19, 2015 at 4:59 AM

    I can't remember summer. It's 15 degrees here and raining. But I did enjoy your description. I love the utter abandon and comfort in sleep that is shown in that picture. I could do with some sleep like that.

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  10. Steve ReedJune 19, 2015 at 7:46 AM

    I used to love summer weekday morning TV, mainly "Ultraman" reruns and then "The Price Is Right." Which is weird, because I am so NOT a consumer. I wonder if Sophie responds to it because of all the sounds, the music and buzzers and bells and such?

    That top photo is wonderful. It really captures the moment.

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  11. Vesuvius At HomeJune 19, 2015 at 1:08 PM

    Bouncy electronic intros to Disney shows about teenage girls who live in bedazzled apartments set in glamorous cities. And Minecraft, minecraft, minecraft.

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  12. BirdieJune 19, 2015 at 4:34 PM

    I have just started watching TPIR on Thursdays with a respite client. It is so loud! That ding, ding, ding when the person gets called on stage is awful. Maybe it is because my client is very hard of hearing and has the TV up to 95/100.

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