As the noises of life and the distractions from media and our gadgets grow, I seem to enjoy quiet more and more. Not the absence of sound, but the opportunity to listen to the birds, the wind, my own thoughts. I love taking long walks on the beach and hiking in the hills. Where I live now, in south Louisiana especially in the summertime, I’m not able to travel those paths with any frequency. I miss my outdoor time amongst the sounds of nature. I have found quiet inside my hom

In the doctor’s office waiting room this week, the patients staged a mutiny. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration. After one person (yes, it was me) said out loud how annoying the “music” was that repeated every minute or so on the TV screen in the corner, two other patients also expressed their displeasure. We decided to ask that the music be turned off, which a thoughtful staff person did for us. We then sat in silence. At a recent wedding reception in Nashville, a DJ pla