Stop & Listen

Sometimes when I walk in the woods in Pawnee Prairie Park right behind our house, or I sit outside during times when it's relatvely quiet outside, I can hear things that I normally couldn't hear. The traffic noise on West Kellogg sometimes wafts out to me. Sometimes I can hear planes take off...not from the Wichita Airport, but rather from McConnell some 12 to 14 miles away. And sometimes, I can hear a train coming into the City...a noise that travels 8 to 10 miles, depending on where the train is.

It's that train noise that takes me back. Because, for most of my life, I've been close enough to the rails to hear the trains as they traverse them on their way to wherever they're going. But out here it's difficult to hear them on a regular basis that is 8 to 10 miles away. So when it does happen, it's a special treat for me.

Train whistles sound much the same now, in 2017, as they did 50 or more years ago. And when they are sounded at the discretion of the engineer (some locomotives have a whistle that is pre-programmed and always sounds exactly the same), they have a distinctive sound...one the engineer possibly has perfected over the years to the point that others who know can tell who is driving the train just by the sound of the whistle.

Steam locomotives, however, are different. Their sound too is distinctive, and is made by blowing steam through some kind of whistling device. It's difficult to hear one of the steam whistles anymore unless one knows when a steam train (usually from Union Pacific, which has a great retro steam program) will be coming through and where it will be. But it's well worth the effort if you are so inclined.

What are some sounds you enjoy hearing outside? How often can you hear them? Why are they special to you? In this busy lifestyle, take some time to go outside some place where it's quiet and just enjoy being...and listening to what (and who) is out there.