Soundwalk

            While spending any amount of time outdoors in New York City, there is bound to be an abundance of diverse sound. For one, the ever-present sounds of traffic, aggravated drivers screaming out their windows, the bits and pieces of conversation not meant for you to catch, and let’s not forget the oh-so-charming cat calls!

            Due to our limited human perspective and auditory capability, it’s hard to even interpret the sounds we are bombarded with on a daily basis.  As a dog walker in midtown, I spend most of my days outside. It generally makes my day easier to tune out nasally New York voices and jackhammers.

            With the addition of the steady falling of rain on cement, however, the streets are less occupied, allowing one to focus more on their surroundings. On rainy days, you hear the sparrows taking shelter in the bushes, the rustling of the branches as they speak to each other in high-pitched clipped chirps, the impact of your rubber soles on the wet pavement, the jingle of dog’s collars. The rain as it hits canvas deli awnings, the opening of umbrellas, people rushing past you. The rolling mini-rivers that collect along the sides of sidewalks, complete with mini waterfalls as they drip into sewage grates.  The car tires rolling along the dewy pavement, the rain as it hits the leaves in the trees. The sound of rainfall encompasses you, offering shelter from the ordinary chaos.