Things That Go Bang In The Morning

This will be another story about the joys of living in a small town. As I have mentioned, I am on a break right now, since the school where I work is on a year round schedule. I really enjoy sleeping in a bit on the three weeks we have off, however, it is not to be. If it's not my, oh so charming neighbor kids (yes, that was a hint of sarcasm in my voice) slamming their door right outside our bedroom window hard enough to shatter the glass (yes, this has actually happened), or my husband tromping through the house to get ready for work (I love him, but I swear that it requires about ten times more noise for him to get ready when I'm not going to work), then it is the fall bane of our existance. By that I mean, the local high school marching band and their outdoor practice. Every morning at eight o'clock, they begin to practice. When I say that they begin to practice, I mean that they parade past our house, trumpets blaring and drums crashing. Now that it's cold enough that we've starting sleeping with the windows closed, this shouldn't be a big deal. However, I'm not the only person in this one horse town (yes, someone really rides a horse past our house regularly) who is disturbed by the marchers.

Bunny is also not fond of the band. When I say she's not a fan, I don't mean that she's going to avoid their concerts and won't be picking up their albums. I mean that when they march past our house, she becomes a leaf-shaking mass of nerves. She will crawl up on the couch between Blueberry and me, but her body still trembles enough that I feel it through her whole body.

I'm not sure what it is about it that bothers her so. Thunderstorms roll through and she doesn't even flinch. The Fourth of July wasn't even a blip on her radar, while Lilac exiled herself to the basement to celebrate in peace. Backfiring cars barely get an ear twitch. However, something about those bass drums booming past gives her the heebie jeebies. It's one of those mysteries of life, I suppose. Nothing else in the world seems to phase her in the slightest, but for now, we both just have to suffer through the enthusiasm of the high school marching band, I suppose. Maybe we can both invest in earmuffs!

Until then, I guess we'll both just spend our vacation as early risers on the couch together and watching the world go by.