How does it Sound?

How does it Sound? ©

By

Michael Casey

Well I was in the kitchen having a late sandwich of beef, it is supposed to be good for my ears after all, yes you heard right, beef has zinc in it so that makes it good for my ears, or rather my Tinnitus. The cat, our Totoro understood straight away, she was perched on the garden fence outside but as soon as she heard the sound of the plastic film being opened she was away like a Marine along the fence and up onto the kitchen window. That sound always means something nice, if, she can persuade us to share with her. Totoro understands English, Chinese and Plastic, food in any language.

And that is how you got tonight’s piece of writing, or rather listening, as I want you all to use your ears not your eyes for my words. All this sounds very much Picasso, everything distorted all over the place, like a drunk putting a jigsaw together. Or typical Michael Casey writing if you are being cruel. Though we always get to the bottom of the page together, just shake the page it’ll look all right then.

So sounds, or vibes. When we are at home there are familiar sounds, the ticking of the clock, the hum of of the PC on the floor by your feet, even Totoro miaowing to be let in. The terrible humming of a tone deaf daughter or son, the sounds on the radio in the kitchen. Though nowadays it’s Spotify on the computer or on a cheap wifi wireless speaker. Sounds cannot be avoided. They are part of our life and we would not know what to do if there was just Silence.

A sound is a anchor to a time and to a place. There used to be to din in the factory, the total deafening noise. So in some places men and women learnt to lip read, or went about screaming at each other. Teachers have such battles too, 4 of us did some form of teaching after all. You have to get past the noise of kids in class. So you may stop, one teacher told me she used to start to dance and when the noise subsided, then she picked up the teaching again. Perhaps she was teaching Ballroom Dancing and Maths simultaneously, find the connection. Maybe grid references and Maths equates to good positioning on the dance floor.

In other situations, a sound means safety, a gentle lapping means the cat is drinking its milk on the floor. If that is interrupted by a baby not gurgling happily, then you have to look up from your tv, or your boyfriend who is babysitting with you. Sounds have a routine, an order, if that order is broken, then something is wrong. The washing machine has it’s range just as a singer does, if the highs and lows don’t follow a sound order then something is wrong. A mechanic knows who a car should sound, how a lawnmower should sound. Everything mechanical has its own rhythm, its own tic and tock, if the sound is not in its range then something is wrong.

So it is with People, with you or me. If there is Silence then why is there silence, we are not all monks waiting for the Abbot to read out our football results while we all eat silently. Or even to tell us what is happening on Coronation St. Or the Archers. Of course you get the Bible readings too, but the Abbot is Italian, so football scores must be heard too.

Sounds are normality, and the sound of distant drums may just be Jim Reeves singing on a neighbours record player though his open window, or the lack of that sound may mean your neighbour has had a funny turn. Glen always plays his Jim Reeves on a Sunday. So you take a look and save his life, but at least you have quiet for a month while Glen is in hospital with his broken hip.

Sounds are normality and sounds are a warning of trouble. Sounds are sounds of happiness, sitting around and farting after a great meal. The sounds of love and laughter. The sounds of anger when the boyfriend hears what’s on the answer machine, left by another boy. Two gay men arguing is never a great sound to listen to. Or two people of any combination. Then there is the sound of silence when they refuse to talk to each other.

There is also the sound of silence, the sound of love, when you don’t need to say anything you are almost in prayer together. You are just happy to be with each other, together forever, asleep with a smile on your face. Rest in Peace forever.