grandmas

Monday, December 10, 2012

Keep on trucking

The guy across the road has a new truck, a great big semi-tractor trailer that's really long and noisy.
He parks it going the wrong way in front of his home and leaves it running most of the time.
It drives me crazy.
My husband and children will testify to the fact that I am ultra sensitive anyway to noise.
They could never watch television at night after I went to bed because I could hear the show three floors up.
These days, my husband plugs in to a set of heavy-duty earphones so he can watch the sports and late-night movies without me griping.
So when this guy started leaving his truck on idle, it upset me.
(It must be a refrigerator unit that has to keep running to keep the load cold or some such thing but it makes me so agitated.)
I'll be working along — like now — and wondering why I'm feeling anxious.
Once I realize the truck's running, I understand why the needle on my stress meter is rising.
I try to ignore it but it's difficult.
So when he started it up the other night after the 10 p.m. news and it shook the house, Marc and I both complained.
I think Marc had underestimated the decibel and stress level.
He was horrified.
He even called the cops for me and this nice policeman came out and talked to the trucker.
I could hear them from my upstairs bedroom window.
The officer was explaining the city noise ordinance and how people were trying to sleep.
The trucker was saying things like "This is only the second time I've run it" and "I never let it go for more than an hour."
I almost bolted outside in my nightgown to challenge his lies.
But I held myself back because he did turn it off...that night.
Two days later he was back with the engine running for way more than an hour.
I'm feeling the tension here.
I'm not sure of my next move.
Shall I take over some Christmas cookies or throw mud at the cab?

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