THE JOHANNESBURG DIARIES - LOUD AND CLEAR - #BLOGCHATTERA2Z2023
I do not know what it is about our generation, but the decibel levels at home are always above normal. Were we born loud, or did we have loudness thrust upon us? Whatever the case, our home was always filled with chatter, every joke creating further peals of raucous laughter. Our mother and her brothers, our uncles, had a penchant for puns and ‘jokelies’ though they were softer than the ‘girls’.
I recall days of fun and frolic with my sisters, my cousins,
uncles and aunts, where around fourteen of us would play card games like Rummy,
Twenty-Eight, Fifty Six and of course, Donkey. We would sit on the floor in a
circle, singing apt songs and cracking inapt jokes. I had heard about the
bonding of cousins in the previous generation as well, where a whole gang of erstwhile
youngsters spent their summer vacations at their impressive ancestral homes,
putting up entertainment programmes for the older lot. I can only imagine how far
the decibel levels climbed, given that the mansions were in the middle of empty
fields, where noise travelled especially when everything was dark and quiet.
These were how bonds were created in the past, bonds
which carried on into the future as well. Even today, we have a lovely time
when we sit around and laugh over the days gone by, and memories so precious.
An aunt of ours has the catchiest laugh ever,
one that is contagious as well. Once we were all at a movie theatre watching a
particularly hilarious movie. My aunt kept laughing right through and the first
time she did, an acquaintance of hers recognised her laugh and looked around
for her.
If our generation is loud, the next generation is not so… all our children are softer than us. My nephew, for instance, gives us a glare the moment he feels our decibel levels skyrocketing. My daughter is normally soft, but she can get as loud as the rest when she is in the company of like-minded foghorns. However, the NexGen tend to disown us in public, especially when we go crazy together.
My better half, being an Army man, has a
voice that can quell armies, one that he uses in normal conversation as well. He
can be heard many houses away, something that stood him in good stead when he
had to command his troops. Unfortunately, now the only troops he needs to
command are a wife and other family members around, and he often gives up on
them because they are not the most tractable of folks.
At Johannesburg, where we have our daughter,
our son-in-love, our grandchildren and a goofy Labrador, the decibel levels are
manageable until the dog hears a whisper of a sound outside, and begins tearing
around, adding to the noise pollution with his loud barks.
Alternatively, the two little ones get into their crazy routine at times and do their bit to bring the roof down. This happens especially after a meal of chocolate resulting in a sugar high which lasts till the effect of it lasts.
Of course, when the whole family gets
together for a braai/barbeque, it is time for a whole new level of noise
pollution, with laughter, music and loud conversation. With the increase of
every decibel, our son-in-love’s level of discomfort goes up, as he frantically
tries to shush all the others. The noise levels go down momentarily, followed
by the next incorrigible joke or conversation, followed by gusts of raucous
laughter.
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