Thursday, 10/2

I do get the sentiment. Most of the time, I might even agree with it.  However, the organization promoting it may not be the best to offer it.

I was driving past a local business a few days ago (yes, I DO drive, at least three times a year), and their sign, like many others on businesses near and far, had a cute little line on it--"Life is short--be loud", a sentiment with which I can usually agree. After all, you have a short, finite lifespan, and making an impression the world while you're here, or "being loud", is one way to have a legacy that may outlive you.

So, like I said, I don't disagree with the sentiment. What I DO disagree with is that it was posted by a motorcycle dealer.

If you've spent any time in downtown Marquette you know what it's like when a motorcycle (or six) goes rumbling through. They're loud, that loudness echoes off the walls of buildings, and if you're walking by all you can hear is the reverberation of an engine without any kind of sound suppression system, made even louder by the fact that it's driver keeps revving the engine to make things even louder. Add to that the fact that some of the motorcycles have radios turned up to the max--just so the rider can hear it--and the ear-splitting noise drives all conversation to a halt and (most likely) causes the unintended passersby a small (although probably not statistically insignificant) episode of hearing loss.

So being loud as a general concept? Yes. Using a motorcycle to drown out all other loudness?

Nope.

Now, I was under the impression that the state of Michigan had laws against vehicles that made too much noise. Whether those laws are just for cars and trucks, or whether they were repealed in the name of "freedom"...I don't know. All I know is that every time a motorcycle (or six) goes rolling past windows shake, conversation stops, and some of the people on the street glare at those causing the ruckus like they're the devil incarnate.

So, you know, there's that.

I don't have a solution to this problem, or even if it IS a problem, except for those who live and work in a densely packed area with buildings that reflect sound. And I'm sure that the vast majority of people riding the motorcycles either don't know of the problem or would be mortified if they found out. But in this one particular instance, the use of the phrase "be loud" might not have the effect that you've intended.

At least if you ask a cranky old man in training.

(jim@wmqt.com), cranky old man in training.