Article June 20, 2005 Issue

TAKE YOUR QUIETNESS WITH YOU

By Mark Swinney

FOR THE LAST couple of years I lived in New York City, rightfully known as "the city that never sleeps." For someone from New Mexico, Manhattan was as noisy as I imagined a city could be. We lived right next to a building site, and for several months workers had to blast through solid rock to lay the new foundation.

Actually, the construction noise next door wasn't nearly as loud as what I heard waiting for the subway every day—subway tunnels seem to hold and concentrate all the echoing noise on the platforms. When an express train would speed through my station, people often would hold their ears and close their eyes.

I'm back in New Mexico now, enjoying the relative quiet. Prior to my stay in New York, I visited Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico—a truly quiet place. Carlsbad's beautiful caves penetrate the earth many hundreds of feet. At one point, our guide led us into a large, open room in the cave and invited us to turn out the lights. We sat quietly for a few minutes. I absolutely relished it! We were so far underground that there wasn't even the slightest hint of light or noise. Just perfect stillness and calm.