One Man’s Ceiling… (#AtoZChallenge)

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge : 26 Stories during the month of April

Welcome to… The Apartment Building: Swan Rise

(For Links to the previous stories, CLICK HERE)

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Amy’s dad was not thinking about the neighbors. His wife said  he just wasn’t thinking when he bought Amy her first drum kit. They lived in an apartment building (“For gosh sakes!” she cried out when she saw the set up) and had neighbors to both sides and one on top and one underneath. Even with the carpeting and his “feeble” attempt at soundproofing, the complaints lodged sent Amy and her drums to the basement, where she practiced until the new super took away those rights in her teens.

This had been the buzz around Swan Rise, off and on, over the years. It settled down to one major thing, that most agreed on:

Noise. The residents of Swan Rise Apartments were not partial to extra noise.

Oh, it was fine during some holidays, and was accepted during big sporting events (don’t try to have a quiet evening at home during the Super Bowl!). New Years Eve-kinda, sorta-but even that was tame in comparison other big blow outs. The illegal fireworks that boomed around on July 4th sent most of the building dogs skittering and whimpering under beds, into bathtubs, or frantically into the laps of their owners, trying to hide in human comfort.

The constant vacuumers, their OCD levels of cleanliness taking over almost daily, were a scourge to anyone who was housebound in any way. If you were sick and stayed home from work or school, you just had to hope that the apartment above you had been hoovered clean already. The vibrations didn’t resound for long in one spot, unless you lived under apartment 4H; it was a surprise that the vacuum cleaner did not bore it’s way down to 3H.

Teens played their music loud, and was tolerated only to the degree of the attitude of the teen. The surlier, dirtier looking, and less helpful ones had little to no leeway. A more straight laced teen didn’t get a complete pass, but there were gentler ways to “offer” noise guidance. Amy had been a well liked young lady, so her drumming was accepted, overall, until she took up with “that boy.”

Swan River Parkway lay with only a four lane road separating the speeding cars and Swan Rise Apartments. Everyone who moved in said they only had trouble sleeping the first few nights. They soon became inured to the almost constant whooshing by; it was only the squeal of tires and the “THUMPTHUMPTHUMP” of an accident that broke into their consciousness.  If you looked up to the windows that faced the parkway, you’d see many faces gawking, a highrise rubbernecking.

Quiet is how most wanted to live. The hum of everyday life folded in upon itself as the residents went about their days.

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