What I Hear...

MED150

Instead of doing a soundwalk around NYC like most of my classmates probably did I opted for a suburban alternative.

I started my walk from my home in Oceanside, Long Island. I live on a relatively quiet block the first thing I heard were sea gulls squawking – a regular soundmark in a town on the water. As I approached my cross street the sound of cars got louder. A car honked to signal the car in front of it to go through the light that had just changed.

In the background I hear a Long Island Rail Road train blare its horn at the near by station.

As I walk past the small shopping center on the corner I hear a lot of talking, First two men speaking Chinese in front of the Chinese restaurant. Then I hear a group of kids joking around outside the candy store, I couldn’t clearly make out what they were saying. Their speech and laughter blended into a muffled sound.

I walk further down the block towards the neighborhood park. On the way I pass a row of houses being built. Machines grumble and tools buzz away as the construction men work.

As I get closer to the park a mini-van stops on the side of the road in front of a house where a man is washing a car, I hear the noise the hose makes when it is interrupted by the mini-van’s horn. The man washing his car yells for his son “___’s here to pick you up” his father yelled – I didn’t hear the name of the woman doing the picking up though.

I get to the front of the park and there’s a ton of different sounds. First I walk past the hockey rink a group of guys are playing roller hockey, I hear their skates swish across the floor and sticks hitting the cement.

A plane passes over head and I look up when I hear its engines.

Once again I hear the unmistakable sound of children at play, followed by a mother yelling at her daughter who was running through the parking lot.

A couple who I assume were doing laps around the park ran past me. I heard them breathing heavy and their feet slap against the pavement.

I walked down the pier that overlooks the bay. Once again I hear gulls overhead. Then a diesel boat passes by its engine sounds like a deep growl. Two people on jet-ski’s zip passed me, their motors hum across the water.

People are fishing on the pier I hear their reels hiss as they cast off the side of the pier.

After a few more minutes of the cliché keynote sounds you’ll usually hear by the water I head back. Once again as I approach the main cross street I hear traffic sounds but this time they’re louder probably because I was becoming more aware of the sounds around me.