I grew up in a small house in England
The commuter train for Liverpool was close by
The train tracks were literally at the end of our back yard
Less than 100 feet from our home
Every time a train went by the house shook
It was so noisy you could not hold a conversation
We simply paused mid sentence
Then continued after the train had gone
Its amazing how you can get used to things
I can honestly say the train noise never bothered me
I enjoyed watching the trains go by
Looking at the sad faces of the tired commuters
Track repair trains would pass by at night
Sometimes making a lot noise fixing the rails
I looked forward to being woken by all that noise
It was exciting to see all the bright lights and banging
Occasionally the train drivers would go on strike
Often these strikes would go on for days
People would ask me if I enjoyed the silence
I never even noticed that the trains had stopped running
Many years later I am much more sensitive to noise
I no longer live next to a train track
I usually wake up to the dawn chorus of happy singing birds
Or the gentle engine hum of a crab fishing boat on the bay
Occasional visits to a city center fill me with dread
Cars roaring by and trucks clanging along
Planes flying low overhead from the nearby airport
There is no escape from the constant background roar
I suspect the city dwellers become immune to the noise
Drowning it out with the volume button on their TV remote
My best escape from noise is the Bose headphones
They cut out all external noise while playing my favorite music