Ann's great commenters part 2 of many...

Last night Prof. Althouse put up a post called, The Gold Liquid Café which seemed to evoke reflections on the good things in life. The below comment was one of the best: A perfect little essay in the middle of a comment thread.

Michael_H said... I developed an odd habit during this past summer. I am a motorcycle rider who enjoys taking off a few weeks now and then and logging 3,000-5,000 miles.

I began wearing foam earplugs under my helmet this summer on the advice of my physician, in order to reduce the noise that leads to hearing loss.

I have come to enjoy the quiet that comes from wearing earplugs. Weird, eh? Wearing them makes the ride very quiet, with only a little engine, road and wind noise intruding. Over a few months I began keeping them in after each ride ended,and wearing them while mowing the lawn as well.

After that, I began wearing them when I went shopping in a mall. And quite a few other places as well, but never when out in the wilderness.

The strange part is, I've come to enjoy the quiet. I can hear my own footfalls; my own breathing. I can pretend to not hear people who want my attention.

My wife is in on it, and now she sometimes wears her earplugs when we are out shopping. It feels like we are aliens from another planet, quietly making our way unnoticed among earthlings.

A nice young woman at a Barnes and Noble noticed and asked whether we needed a signer. I said "no, we learned to read lips a long time ago. At Galluadet.

"When we got to our car, laughing, my wife said "read my lips: I'm an alien from the planet of the horny women".

Welcome to the quiet world!