Audio Logs (part I and II)

Part One: Into the woods

          Deep in the woods on the back end of campus I sit. A bed of pine straw below me, a darkening sky above.

          I close my eyes.

          In the distance, cars and motorcycles roar. The branches of the trees behind my creak and snap. A high pitched chirp and a flutter of wings. The evening’s crickets are just warming up. They seem to be high in the trees. Far to my left, an engine grumbles. Even here the sounds of traffic break through the trees.

          A quiet symphony of chirps in the tree line above me.

Another cricket. A soloist. He plays as well.

Another singular sound joins him on my right.

Behind me. A click, like a drop of rain on the pine straw. But it is not raining. The forest is shifting.

Another angry cry from south college.

Another bug joins in on the evening’s concert. This one sounds like a zipper. He only sounds once.

          The ambient noises from the road and the wind blend together to give the atmosphere a pleasant hum. They defeat the fundamental silence.

          Now a plane. An engine reverberates over my head. Moving from behind me to above me to in front of me. Slowly. Or quickly.

          The sounds of the traffic seem to be quieting over all. The crickets seem to be getting louder.

The sun is threatening to sink below the horizon, it seems.

Part Two: The side of the road

          Sitting now, precipitously close to the edge of the road.

          Eyes close again.

          Cars pass – slowly or quickly. Some engines hum, some roar.

          One passes and seems to slow as it passes. Like a large, angry bee. Somewhere between a hum and a buzz. Its tires creak on the pavement as they turn.

          A motorcycle rips past me, I think.

          Some of the cars have music playing that I can subtle hear the thumping rhythm of. Can’t make out the song.

          Between vehicles I hear the constant hum of what seems to be air conditioning units, or heaters, or something.

          Crickets chant angrily from the trees far to my right. Almost in response to them a wave of crickets circles in front of me and to my left. Where are they even hiding?

Behind me in a parking lot a car’s tires grumble as the push loose pieces of asphalt (or gravel?) around. They’re probably parking. I guess that’s what you do in a parking lot.

Brakes squeak. Or whine. Unintelligible conversations of people walking on the sidewalk.

They must think I’m strange.

I mean, I am ostensibly eaves dropping.

A siren. A door closing. A girlish voice. A car door opens and closes. Another car passes me. Louder as it goes. But then quieter.

A more manly voice now. The way it sounds annoys me.