Manners Matter: No More Noise Pollution

Dear Mary Pat,

I was in the grocery store doing my weekly shopping and I kept running into the same man aisle after aisle. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but this particular man was listening to music from his phone. That wouldn’t be a big deal either, but he wasn’t using earbuds…he had his volume on as high as it would go. What the heck? Did this guy think that everyone needed extra music in addition to the elevator tunes being piped in by the store? Was he auditioning to be a DJ?

It’s bad enough that I have to hear people’s one-sided conversations when they answer their phones in public without the ability to not shout, but now I have to hear some random guy’s playlist when I’m in a public place?

Signed,

No More Noise Pollution

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Dear No More Noise Pollution,

I’m getting flashbacks of boom boxes on street corners but at least they were outside…and so was John Cusack come to think of it.

This shouldn’t need to be explained, but I guess I need to spell it out. It is rude to have your cell phone playing music loudly (or softly) while you are in a public place. Public places include grocery stores, restaurants, concert halls (this seems so obvious but I would have thought the others were too), planes, doctor’s offices, classrooms, stadiums, and so on.

Let’s be aware of our surroundings and how our actions might be affecting those around us. Please.

Good luck,

Mary Pat