‘Day 309, Project 365 – 8.29.10’
courtesy of ‘@thewtb’

At first I can only hear a faint scratchy sound, while I’m perusing my morning Express, peacefully on my way to work. Then it becomes a louder sound. One that registers… it sounds vaguely familiar…is that…no…it can’t be… Miley Cyrus? I look around, expecting to see a tourist teenage girl, and see you, Mr. Metro Music Lover, blasting your “Party in the USA” through your headphones so loud that the entire train can sing along to your dream and cardigan. Folks on the train look up, glancing at you, hoping that you’ll notice that the ENTIRE CAR is now unwillingly subjected to your pre-8 a.m. dance party.

And after a fade out, I hear glorious silence. I don’t really care that you don’t value your eardrums while you punish it with $50 quality headphones, this is your own choice, but I do value my sound space on a silent metro car in the morning. Surely a little bit more time of calm helps as we combat the stressful hours of the day. As I relax into the white noise of a typical metro trip, it happens again. The song switches, this time to some rhythm-based electronic. More folks get off the car. You’re bopping along now, oblivious to the evil eyes of strangers. And while you, Mr. Music Lover, may need some Jersey-Shore style house music to get you pumped for a long day of coffee sipping and Excel spreadsheets, I prefer the calming lull of the trains and the inane tourist babble.

So my note to you, sir, is this: TURN IT DOWN.

PLEASE.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND RIGHT IN THE WORLD.

TURN IT DOWN.

Respectfully yours,

Katie