It’s hard to emulate JFK — this JFK, at least.
His “Ask not” quotation, etched onto a plaque, hangs above this JFK — a bust of the 35th president, perched atop a pedestal on the top floor of the St. Mary-of-the-Woods College Library. Those words from his Jan. 20, 1961, inaugural address to “a new generation of Americans” were indeed a lofty challenge.
But this John F. Kennedy sets a different standard for us to meet. Cast in bronze, he quietly stands watch over more than 20 shelves filled with books. Massive evergreens sway in the cool December breeze outside, but their rustling can’t be heard inside.
The room is utterly soundless. In other settings, the airy hum of my laptop would be unnoticeable. Here, its noise warrants an apology, yet there is no one to hear it, aside from President Kennedy.
The song “Silent Night” will echo through churches and waft from car radios this week around the Wabash Valley. That anticipation led me to visit the quietest locale I could envision — the library on the serene Woods campus.
I constituted the only sign of life on the third floor Thursday afternoon. The students had just finished semester finals and headed home for the holidays. The linoleum glowed from fluorescent lights overhead. A globe, a stray copy of the “History of England” on an empty desk, and Mr. Kennedy shined, too, but there was no sound.
It was silent, and rare.
Pure quiet is hard to find. It unsettles us. The biblical passage, “Be still and know that I am God,” seems like a Herculean feat in the 21st century. We layer noises upon noises like a deli sandwich.
In any given household on any given day, we may hear tires squeal in a car chase on the living room TV, goofy YouTube bloopers on a computer, chimes from an incoming text message on a cellphone, a conversation on another cellphone, explosions from a video game on an iPad, trucks rumbling up the street outside, a neighbor running his leaf blower, and the ring of a landline telephone.
The old phrase, “I can’t hear myself think,” is more real than ever.
Advertisers know how difficult it is to get our attention these days. They boost the volume of television commercials to deafening peaks to dissuade us from changing the channel or to make sure we still hear their pitch as we walk into the kitchen for a snack.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission passed regulations mandating that broadcasters and cable and satellite providers maintain constant volume levels with their programming. The sounds from some ads reached a shrill 78 decibels, just shy of the 80 decibels produced by a blow dryer. By contrast, a subtle churn of a refrigerator motor measures at 40 decibels. The FCC received authority to issue the guidelines thanks to congressional legislation signed last year by President Obama known as the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM.
Calm.
Seldom do we sense that all is calm.
In fact, some people desire the opposite. Along with the loud advertisements, noise gets forced upon us in other ways. The writer of a letter sent to the Tribune-Star editor earlier this year complained about the prevalence of heart-thumping, bass-drenched car stereos on Terre Haute’s streets. Granted, I crank up “Won’t Get Fooled Again” when it comes on my radio, but these booming, low-end blasts rattle the steering wheels of every nearby car and drown out even The Who.
The letter writer aptly labeled these noises as “audio assaults.” They leave wounds. The Environmental Protection Agency cites research confirming that noise pollution causes stress-related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption and low productivity at work.
As Christmas and the year-end holidays approach, many of us would find it therapeutic to experience a truly silent night, or morning or afternoon, for that matter. It’s a time for reflection and, for many, spiritual connection. Amid all the hustle and bustle, it’s a time to also be still and listen. Without the unending rants of cable TV politicos, traffic and technological gadgets.
Anyone who’s attended a candlelight church service on Christmas Eve has likely felt the power of stillness, when the last chorus of “Silent Night” fades, the flames are extinguishes and sound disappears just for a moment.
Outside the library window Thursday afternoon, I finally detected a faint bit of noise — the growling of a Harley, climbing a county road beyond the Woods campus. Soon, the disruption passed. The room remained quiet, as JFK watched.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
Mark Bennett B-Sides
MARK BENNETT: In this day and age, pure quiet is hard to find
- Mark Bennett B-Sides
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B-SIDES: Bloomington brain exhibit gives us something to think about
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MARK BENNETT: Read me to sleep, mom
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MARK BENNETT: A lesson to be learned from Lugar’s loss
It can happen to one of the nation’s most revered, principled, effective, hard-working U.S. senators.
And, if it hasn’t already, it can happen to you. -
MARK BENNETT: Despite challenges, 2012 grads have youth, tenacity on their side
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MARK BENNETT: Political life imitates art
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MARK BENNETT: When it came to artwork, ‘Salty’ always kept it real
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MARK BENNETT: Ongoing challenge: To keep Mother Nature from getting trashed
Soggy, mud-caked jeans and a formerly white T-shirt were my youngest son’s summertime uniform, as a kid.
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Playing a legend: Broadway actor practiced hundreds of shots, visited Terre Haute to play Sycamore legend in 'Magic/Bird'
Until now, the words “Larry Bird” and “Broadway production” simply would not appear in the same sentence.
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MARK BENNETT: How much of your spring break will be spent in the digital world?
It seems harsh to give folks a math assignment on the brink of spring break, but wisdom should never take a holiday, so here goes.
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MARK BENNETT: Litter trashes scenery on first day of spring
A mop is an ironic piece of litter.
Someone once used it to keep floors spotless. When its utility ended, this cleaning device became trash on the edge of a road. -
MARK BENNETT: Food for thought
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Need a tourney tip? Try the team that puts people to work
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MARK BENNETT: Manning leaves great memories for Colts fans
The emotion behind the words was obvious.
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MARK BENNETT: Terre Haute native saw tornado bearing down on his school
Disaster drills often leave participants grumbling or wisecracking. Until, heaven forbid, they see what Tom Cullen saw Friday afternoon.
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MARK BENNETT: Year of the River a common interest for diverse entities
Water can compel people to get better acquainted.
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MARK BENNETT: Our greatest president had some help from an obscure relative
On this Presidents Day week, historians weigh the impact of Washington, Jefferson and the Roosevelts on Americans’ lives.
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MARK BENNETT: Proposed trail would give river development momentum, reacquaint community with Wabash
Terre Haute and the Wabash River were like strangers living next door to each other.
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MARK BENNETT: Super Bowl luck? His is mostly bad
I’ve learned to take a Seinfeld approach to Super Bowls.
In a flash of clairvoyance, Jerry excitedly reminded buddy George Costanza that “if every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” -
MARK BENNETT: Not-so-casual observers
In the minds of many adults, the most upstanding generation of young people was, ironically, their own.
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MARK BENNETT: On the banks of the Wabash, a sculpture
Paul Dresser remembered his hometown at its best. Terre Haute should remember him the same way.
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MARK BENNETT: A reminder for electorate: You get what you vote for
In the rear-view mirror of our lives, some days loom larger than we expected.
For many Hoosiers, the date Nov. 2, 2010, probably fits that category. -
MARK BENNETT: Keys to the future
Steve Witt fielded a jarring phone call in October 2007.
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MARK BENNETT: Hall-of-Famer Larkin delivered more than clutch hits
A logjam of kids swelled behind the first-base dugout in Riverfront Stadium.
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MARK BENNETT: Polian, Colts and Terre Haute were good for one another
Sentimentality seems alien in a discussion of Bill Polian.
That emotion rarely influenced his decisions in 14 seasons as the day-to-day boss of the Indianapolis Colts. He surely felt it, but seldom submitted to it. The NFL is a business, after all, with winning as its bottom line. Polian knew how to make that happen, and did. Anyone or anything threatening to divert the Colts from title contention could not linger. When it came to that mission, Polian functioned with all of the sentimentality of Joe Friday. -
MARK BENNETT: In this day and age, pure quiet is hard to find
It’s hard to emulate JFK — this JFK, at least.
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MARK BENNETT: Rose professor’s bit part in classic holiday movie leaves a major memory
Most of us see a bit of ourselves in “A Christmas Story.” Mike Kukral does so, literally. The 1983 movie grew into a holiday classic because so many of its poignant, awkward and hilarious moments seem to have been pulled straight from our childhood memories.
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MARK BENNETT: Ferrell’s love of Old Milwaukee shines light on Old Terre Haute
Will Ferrell didn’t walk through traffic at Seventh and Wabash for nothing.
Well, actually it might have been for nothing. Apparently, the comedian just likes Old Milwaukee so much that he came to Terre Haute, unannounced, one morning last September to film wacky commercials for the beer. -
MARK BENNETT: Holiday season makes going to the mailbox fun again
Ants decided to set up a colony in our family’s mailbox last summer.
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MARK BENNETT: First impressions: City benefits from hearing visitors’ views of community
The town should blush.
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MARK BENNETT: When it comes to retail, Thursday is the new Friday
The new Thanksgiving dinner tradition?
Turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie served at a family tailgating party in a big-box store parking lot on Black Thursday. - More Mark Bennett B-Sides Headlines
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