Bryan Tipton

I have found a new sort of noise.

I live in a neighborhood where no car was built post-1995, yet they all have car alarms (that go off frequently). Across the street sits a business with a small parking lot. The parking lot has no trees, yet they still hire a man with a leaf blower three times a week. The incredibly loud leaf blower man starts his job at 7am and it takes him at least an hour.

This morning I heard the random plucking of strings. I looked out my window into the alley, and saw below, a well-dressed man with ponytail holding a ukulele. He plucked at it tentatively – like it was the first time he had held it. He studied it. Tucked under his arm was something in a paper bag. I asked myself the following questions: “Why is a well dressed man holding a ukulele? Did he just find it? What’s in the paper bag? And why o’ why is he doing all this in the alley below my window?” He played this instrument without rhythm or musicianship for two minutes. He then pulled a 40 oz. bottle of beer from the paper bag and chugged the remaining contents. Pony-tail man then kindly found the closest trash-can and sat the bottle on top.

Surprisingly, the ponytailed-well-dressed-ukulele-beer-chugging-possibly-homeless man was still only the second oddest person I'd seen in my new neighborhood. There's still the guy in the park who walked his pet rabbit on a leash.

It will take some time to become familiar with all of the sounds in my new neighborhood.

And some high quality ear plugs.