Sitting in my backyard on my swing – what could be better than that on a glorious Santa Clarita spring day in May?
I came to the realization that the Santa Clarita Valley has a problem with noise pollution – what could be worse than that?
I live on a quiet street in Valencia, and it is very disconcerting to hear all the loud noises that go on in the surrounding areas.
Points in fact: when the gardeners show up with their leaf blowers and their lawn mowers, which are in a state of disrepair, and they are using the leaf blower and the lawn mower at the same time – it is a serenade to behold, but I excuse that because they have to make a living, and what would we do without ours gardeners who keep our lawns so spiffy?
You can hear the hot-rodders revving-up their motors to a deafening degree for the purpose of showing off or challenging another hot-rodder who can make more noise.
Then you have the motorcyclists with their zoom, zoom noises showing off or challenging the other motorcyclists who have a louder zoom, zoom.
The horn-honking is increasing in this valley where it seems that if you can honk your horn longer than anyone else you are the horn-honking winner.
A California law says horn-honking is for a warning, not a command, but try to tell that to the impatient drivers in Santa Clarita.
Then you have the sirens from the fire engines, which I excuse because they are on a mission of mercy.
We have had an extended amount of wind in Santa Clarita in the last few weeks, which makes the leaves and branches crackle, which is kind of nice, so I excuse that noise.
Santa Clarita is in the flight pattern for the airlines, and when those big, magnificent planes roar overhead, the sound is resounding.
Looking up at a beautiful blue clear sky and seeing the jet streams mark up this tranquil setting is annoying, although I do sometimes wish I was on that plane for unknown destinations.
Now that it is spring there is an abundance of birds, but loving birds I excuse their constant chirping and the mess they make at the bird feeder.
The dogs can be very annoying with their constant barking, but we have to realize it is their job to protect and warn us, and we must realize that they like to “bark chatter” with their fellow dogs, so I excuse their barking because I’m a dog lover.
Sometime, with all this noise pollution coming at one time, which happens often, I try to block out the harsh noises and be grateful that I can hear those noises that are soothing.
Lois Eisenberg is a Valencia resident.
