yeah, who'd have thought that laid back, hippy-dippy leucadia would be the noisiest place to live.

you get used to white noise--the train barreling past umpteen times a day, although i'm sure at least one conductor sits his rear end on that horn, giving his all, ever since that dear soul lay herself down on the tracks early last year. helicopters buzz single file down the coast, military jets...o.k., they're a given, with the military bases around here, although who knows what they do and why. and monday morning's cacaphonous road monsters collecting trash, recycling and yard waste, are expected and accepted loud intrusions. tree trimmers, phone company repair vehicles, ups, water delivery, utility trucks, road repair,moving vans--o.k., o.k., I accept as a part of urban life.

it's everything else i can't tolerate, and the reason i can't is because i don't matter--it's a screw you attitude around here. there are the weed-wackers and leaf blowers (illegal in some cities for the noise pollution). every neighbor has gardeners come on a different day. there's the neighbor who hired someone to jackhammer 8 hours a day for weeks at a time (8 hours a day is legal). no one was ever home there, and the jackhammer operater didn't speak english. i thought it would never end. there's the doggy grooming van in the driveway right across the street from my bedroom window. every night they run a generator while they clean out the van. it's like a having a large truck idling outside my room. is it pumping exhaust my way too? they're within the law if they stop by 7pm. but what the hell--they don't care that it disturbs me. she said we moved here because there are no neighborhood rules.

next door i think they run a day care. their kid is a screamer and a cry-baby. when they are in the yard out front, i peek out the window, because it sounds like they're right outside. their dog howls relentlessly. another dog, who had his vocal cords cut, hacks and rasps like a death's door smoker. and who do they rent their upstairs to? new years, a bunch of rowdies were breaking bottles and shooting fireworks in the street, just outside my window. when i came out, they moved it upstairs.

in november, one night, just for fun, some jerks drove around the neighborhood taking potshots at rear windshields with a bb gun. guess whose new truck's windshield shattered into a million pieces upon opening the door next morning? cop said not a chance they'll get caught.

hey, thanks for reading. feels good to vent. happy 4th. be safe and sound.