CommMcfa2 Ten Sounds that Make Me Smile

Ten Sounds that Make Me Smile

by Stanley McFarland

1) A baby’s laugh. You see a creature so completely innocent and awe-inspiring – then she pours out wisdom she’ll never top in her life. Was I ever so wise?

2) A train whistle. A doorway to imagination – a train can lead to anywhere, from a grisly battle to an animated wonderland.

3) Rain on the roof. Do I smile because there is so great a sea of water above me – or because the roof keeps me dry?

4) The whirring of an automatic can opener. I think of all the cats I’ve known – poised, wishing, dreaming of that sound.

5) A bat hitting a baseball. Do I love baseball for the sights, smells, and sounds – or the game? Which came first…

6) Playing cards clacking in the spokes of a bike. You almost never hear this anymore. As a child it made me wish I was on a motorcycle. As an adult it makes me wish I was a child.

7) Opening theme music from the 1996 animated version of The Tick. Okay, that might just be me.

8) Dixieland Jazz. Satchmo – I miss you dearly.

9) Crickets, peepers, bullfrogs, an owl calling to its mate. The quiet of the night cleans the noise from the world and leaves the beauty.

10) The heartbeat of the one I love – my head resting on her chest. The rest of the world grows dim.