Headphones on, headphones off

By Dale Conour

I wore my headphones on my walk to work once. And didn’t like it. I couldn’t hear the birds. Couldn’t hear the leaves rustling. Couldn’t enjoy the relative quiet of the morning. Couldn’t have my tunes and be in tune.

The other day, just for kicks, I fired up the ’pod on the way home from the train. Not much in the way of birds, leaves and quiet at that time of day, especially along El Camino Real. What was there to lose?

Once again, I felt the distance, the removal from the environment. The lights progressed through their colors. The traffic flowed (a distant murmur). People made their way home, strolling with their heads down. Leaves shimmered silently in the late afternoon sun. I followed my route by rote.

Even though I had The National on, what I couldn’t get out of my head was:

A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway.

And I couldn’t decide if I was more disconnected or less.

Let’s stay in touch.