I Hear Loud People

Two weekends ago, Muri and I were flying from Phoenix to Las Vegas to meet our friends for the weekend.   Since we were flying Southwest Airlines … and were unwilling to spend the extra $12.95 each to upgrade to early boarding … we ended up in the B boarding group, B10 and B11 to be exact.   Since Muri can be a bit claustrophobic and needs an aisle seat, we ended up in the last row.  Across the aisle was a forty something man was telling his date what a wonderful time they were going to have in his best overbearing, I’m-a-confident-guy voice.  There’s always one, Muri said.  And indeed, no matter where we go, there always does seem to be one voice loud enough to annoy … and it’s almost always a man.   Last week, my friend Ralph and I were sitting at Starbucks having coffee.  The young man in a not-even-twenty-couple at the next table was talking so loud Ralph and I could hardly hear each other.  I wish they’d take their first date somewhere else, Ralph said.  Yesterday, needing to get out of my office for a while, I decided to work at our local Corner Bakery, where there’s a regular supply of coffee and an occasional treat.  Of course, working there is impossible without my handy-dandy Bose noise cancelling headphones   Today the culprits were a thirty-something guy in a suit checking in with his home office on his smartphone and two businessmen of some sort discussing what must have been the deal of the century.