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Earphones and Mr. Boom Boom

Today was the day my earphones arrived. When I ordered them they said it would take three to five days. Today was three days and all day I wondered if they’d be by my door by the time I got home. Would I finally overcome Mr. Boom Boom?

I was talking to Carmen C. on my mobile phone as I came across the apartment parking lot towards my door. I could already hear the stereo cranked up. His windows were all open so it was hard to miss. I opened the door to our hallway and sure enough by my door was the prized box. Yeah!!!!

After I got off the phone with Carmen I immediately put the headphones together. The stereo was like the other night, even unusually loud for Mr. Boom Boom. He was playing a sort of mix of Spanishesque and jazz music. I sort of liked it (although the rudeness of blasting the entire neighborhood still grated at me.)

Eagerly I tried on the earphones. They didn’t help with the booming. AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Defeat!

I don’t regret the purchase. While the base on the stereo next door (and tonight the overall music) was so loud that even noise reducing earphones with the volume cranked all the way up weren’t enough to drown out the sound, I still like the earphones. The sound quality is amazing! It’s like having a movie theater in your head. Plus, I can walk all over the house and still listen. I can even lay on my bed in my bedroom and the range is still good. That’s kind of fun! While they haven’t solved my problem, I’m keeping them.

I tolerated Mr. Boom Boom as I did dishes and some cleaning. It’s Friday night. I could hear him singing next door and some other odd vocal outbursts. Maybe he was having a party. I can deal with the occasional party – it’s the night after night of this that’s ticking me off. But, hey, it’s Friday and I needed to get some exercise anyway.

So, I took off for a nice long walk. The weather was so nice! Cloudy and rainy – my favorite!

I came home and the stereo was still blazing. I could hear it before I even got to the courtyard. I tried my earphones in the bedroom, the room farthest away from his apartment – but could still hear his music competing with mine so that neither were fun to listen to.

My upstairs neighbor was growing increasingly irritated as well. I could hear her above me, pacing to and fro, opening her patio door (probably in an attempt to identify which apartment to complain to about the noise.) I heard her try to yell down from her balcony. I could have told her it wouldn’t work.

Next I heard her front door slam. Down the stairs she came, thump, thump, thump, and the hallway door slammed with a bang. A few minutes later the stereo was still on, but at half the level as before. She’d reached her absolute breaking point before I did.

The relative peace only lasted about 15 minutes.

Mr. Boom Boom was back at it. I needed to go to the drug store anyway, so I went. After all, if she hadn’t gotten him to turn it down, what luck was I going to have?

I got back about 45 minutes later and Boom Boom was still booming. As I came across the courtyard I noticed, however, that there were no lights on in his apartment. Was it coming from upstairs? The nice older lady upstairs that never makes a peep?

I went out on my patio and stuck my head over the fence planning to try to get his attention. The music was clearly coming from Boom Boom’s place.

There Boom Boom sat, in the dark with a chair pulled up to his sliding screen door. I could make out bottles and beer cans scattered around all over his porch. He tried to talk to me, but his speech was somewhat slurred. Boom Boom was completely wasted.

He wasn’t having a party. He was drunk, sitting by himself in his apartment in the dark with his stereo cranked. I suddenly went from extremely angry to feeling really badly for Boom Boom.

I wonder what must have happened today that would have him drinking by himself in the dark like that? The stereo went off as I stood there. He didn’t get up to adjust it. I think the CDs just finally ran out. He didn’t budge and it’s been quiet every since.

We’re obviously going to have to find a way to solve the Boom Boom problem in the neighborhood. But, he’s gone from being just a rude, insensitive jerk to a rude, insensitive jerk who probably has a lot more going on than I realize. Hmmmmm

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