The sound of silence.

Can anybody explain me what the sound of silence actually sounds like?
I imagine it to be the sound of nature, with all rustle of us, humans, excluded. Shouldn’t it be the breeze of wind in your ear, maybe interrupted by a buzzing bee or mosquito flying by? The twittering sound of birds, warning each other that an unwanted visitor is approaching, is something I’d allow to be part of the sound of silence. Or the sudden “plop” you hear when a fruit falls from a tree. The pattering of a rabbit fleeing into the bushes, ok, I can live with that being part of the sound of silence.

Last week, I did a 20 kilometer walk in the neighbourhood where I live. For the most part of those kilometers, I found myself in a nature reserve. I saw deer, birds, frogs, mice, ants, you name it…

The one thing I didn’t find, was the sound of silence. There’s always something interfering with it. I heard the noise of cars on the motorway nearby, I crossed the path of chatting people, I noticed playing children somewhere in the distance, a carpenter hitting the nail on the head, the loud growling of a motorcycle…

And just when I thought I didn’t hear anything anymore, at the moment that I thought all side-sounds had died, I start hearing this zoom. I look up, and 15000 feet above me, an airplane has started its descent to Brussels Airport.

Well, here’s my question again: Can anybody explain me what the sound of silence actually sounds like?

They're coming!

Less than three weeks. I had to pinch my arm to make sure I’m not dreaming. In less than three weeks I’m having a visitor. From Norway!

I’m so looking forward to Kiki’s visit. We met almost a year ago, in a hotel in Saint-Petersburg, we spent a wonderful first evening together and had a lot of fun during our journey on the transsiberian railway.

After she’s gone, there’s another special person coming to stay with me for a week. A long lost sister. Julie spent a year in our family, in 1974, and – unbelievable but true – she’s coming to see my family and me again in september.
I have to admit that it’s a strange but oh so exciting feeling.
1974, the pre-internet era, which means we completely lost track of each other after she left. I’m so glad I found her again. My sister and I are almost fighting to host her. It’s been 37 years, so I guess we look a bit different since the last time we saw each other.

We haven’t had really nice weather so far, but august 24th, that’s when my summer starts!