Not Noise

I was in the bathroom a couple of days ago and thought I heard muzak. When I came out, I didn't hear the muzak. I went back in--heard it. It had to be coming from next door, but in this region one rarely (to never) hears any kind of music seeping through the walls. I thought, "Great. Gone are the last of my marbles."

As I listened more closely, I tried to break down the sounds.There was something there-I was sure of it. Or not. But I was still sure of it. And if there wasn't muzaky music playing, I knew I would need a rest right away in some place where I could spend my semi-conscious hours in a day room weaving a plastic lanyard while waiting for itty bitty paper cups full of meds.

I put my ear against the tiles. It was water running through pipes going from one apartment to the next. I live in a 10 story high rise and I'm on the fifth floor. As the water goes to various apartments on different floors it creates tones at different volumes and pitches--blended together simultaneously--it sounds like muzak. But it was very, very faint.

I suppose there is some sort of music always going on around us if we listen. Right now there is the quiet but steady hum of the central a/c and my computer which reminds me of bows being drawn slowly across violins, violas and cellos. Above this are cars zooming round the round about, beep beeping like occasional Stravinsky horn bursts; way in the background down the hall is the TV on low, chattering like a chorus group warming up. My heartbeat sets the rhythm. It's all there.