Noisy Interruption
Earlier this week, I was trying to write an article for publication, but the landscapers who care for my neighborhood were buzzing with their machines. Other laborers were replacing the fiber optics around my neighborhood.* Their work is important, and they do it diligently and with smiles. I appreciate their service – after all, we (the homeowners in my community) pay for it, and I don’t have time for mowing and shrub-trimming at this stage in my life — though I did a good bit of mowing in bygone days.
But Schopenhauer was right about noise.
“Noisy interruption is a hindrance to concentration.”
* Some hombres were banging hammers outside my house. I went to check. “What’s going on here?” I asked. Their response: “No English.” I replied in Spanish: “¿Qué pasa aquí?” “Ah!” They responded with friendly smiles. “Nosotros estamos trabajando en la fibra ópticas.”