EVERY STREET'S A CONVERSATION
By Dan Miller
March 27, 2007
Something strange seems to take place when throngs of people pass by my ears.
Oddly, I first noticed it in Brighton, England about 15 years ago....
then, last week, I heard it again while pushing through a dense crowd of people in New York's Times Square.
It’s basically the same aural illusion you’ll hear on summer evenings as you drive along a country road, with the car window open….with crickets chirping away in full force.
It sounds as though the same chorus of crickets moves right along with your car.
The volume and intensity of the chirping doesn’t vary....
The reality is…. thousands of crickets along the entire stretch of road are all making the exact same noise…. and the level of chirping is sustained.
That night, 15 years ago in Brighton, it was incredibly hot.... the hottest weather they’d had in England in a number of years.
Our room had no air conditioning, so we kept windows open to allow at least a small amount of circulation.
Below our window -- moving constantly along the sidewalk -- was a long line of young people, noisily celebrating the night.
I asked Karen to listen.
As each couple -- or small group -- would pass beneath our window, we'd hear voices repeating the same words as those who preceded it.... or, perhaps, adding what often seemed the next logical line to a continuous conversation.
Like the crickets, there was an eerie continuity.
In Times Square last week, I was struck by the same sensation at about 10 p.m..... just as many of the shows were letting out.
The sidewalks were jammed with people.
And as each passerby would come within earshot, the words and phrases all seemed to flow together…...
Voice #1.... “Are you going to.....?”
Voice #2.... “Maybe we’ll meet you.....”
Voice #3.... “Do we need a cab?”
Voice #4.... “We could walk....”
Voice #5.... “There’s always the subway....”
Voice #6.... “What a great show.....”
Voice #7.... “That was great.....”
Voice #8.... “Yeah, we saw it too......”
Voice #9.... “I’m going back.....”
Voice #10... “To the hotel and get.....”
Voice #11... “Some sleep... I’m really tired....”
Voice #12... “Are you guys hungry?”
Voice #13... “There’s a great deli.....”
Voice #14... “The pizza is the best.....”
Voice #15... “Who’s coming with us?”
I couldn’t help but think how narrow and limited the range of topics and questions seemed to be.
Surely there must be something deeper and more meaningful all these people could be discussing on the busy streets of one of the world's most dynamic places.
After listening for a few minutes, I grew weary of hearing such repetitive conversations.
So I asked Karen what we should do next?
Whether we should take a cab or the subway?
I commented on how great the show was we’d just seen…. and asked whether we should maybe go to the hotel, or – if she and my daughter were hungry -- stop somewhere and get something to eat?
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