We’ve become a very loud culture.

Recently my husband and I went to a new restaurant downtown.

It was a nice, yet casual, spot.

We sat on a high top table near a window, and proceeded to endure ear damaging decibels.

A local band? The juke box turned up loud?

Nope. Just the patrons. Talking. Very loudly!!

My nerd husband pulled out his decibel gauge on his phone, and immediately got reading of 80-90 decibels.

80 decibels is equivalent to: Garbage disposal, dishwasher, average factory, freight train (at 15 meters). Car wash at 20 ft (89 dB); propeller plane flyover at 1000 ft (88 dB); diesel truck 40 mph at 50 ft (84 dB); diesel train at 45 mph at 100 ft (83 dB). Food blender (88 dB); milling machine (85 dB); garbage disposal (80 dB).

90 decibels is equivalent to: Boeing 737 or DC-9 aircraft at one nautical mile (6080 ft) before landing (97 dB); power mower (96 dB); motorcycle at 25 ft (90 dB). Newspaper press (97 dB).

(Source: https://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm)

It doesn’t get better at “nice” restaurants. Gone are the days of quiet, romantic dinners. Instead, I get to enjoy all the conversations around me.

Add a cell phone, and it’s worse. I know that by watching what is going on around me, most people think it’s okay to initiate or answer phone calls, and then talk and guffaw loudly, any time and anywhere.

Wrong.

Cell phones have brought the downfall to a lot of things, and common sense and manners are near the top of the list.

Gone are the days of going to a concert and listening to the musicians.

Now I get to pay $149 a ticket to listen to a millennial shout her inane opinions and describe her sad life. (This happened. And when we asked her to please keep it down, she got confrontational with my husband – a man old enough to be her father).

I would love to see phones banned from restaurants, and concert venues. It was a breath of fresh air to see one of the top comics recently – afraid of people taping the show, they forbid any phone use.

We actually got to enjoy the show.

I used to talk a lot when I was a child. My nickname was “mouth”! I knew when to be quiet, though. I understood the inside voice concept.

As I get older and want to enjoy good food, good company, and sometimes just the great outdoors, I miss the days of quiet.

I hope some how, some way, they can be brought back.