SoundWalk

         Today is Halloween. I can hear a faint version of "Jailhouse Rock" echoing through the blocks from my stoop. I can hear children screaming with joy and laughing with terror. The streets of Hoboken are not as bustling as those of New York. Today was an exception. I can hear the streets come to life. I can hear tiny, young voices pleading for candy from half-excited venders and store owners waiting for their break. I can hear the cries of the miniature, mildly-upset spiderman pestering his father for more sweets. I can hear a shriek of sirens getting louder as the ambulance slithered throughout the horde of costumes.
        While walking down away from the parade, I can hear the sounds of the crowd growing mute. It never quite gets there though. I start to hear and feel the wooshing winds cutting through the crisp autumn air. I hear the heavy strides of a runner who just started his daily workout. I can hear water. I hear it splashing against pier A, only to cycle back into the flow of the Hudson. I can hear the sweeping sounds of the swells start to overtake the cries of the city streets. There is a homeless couple singing an Italian folk song in two-part harmony. I can hear the man pluck the nylon strings of his hollow-body acoustic guitar in accompaniment. I can hear the choppy engine of a news helicopter slicing through the sky towards the skyline of Manhattan.
       I can hear the dry leaves scurrying across the pavement at my feet, eager to bring us deeper into the season. I can hear the grunts and screams of painful fulfillment coming from the boxing gym just down the street. I hear the words to "This is Halloween" coming from the Wicked Wolf Tavern getting louder as I walked closer. I hear all of this. But I feel it too. The warmth. The shift from the busy crowds to the quaint riverside is my favorite thing about this city and this time of year. There will always be the exciting and bustling side of life. But there is also the calm, peaceful side that keeps it in balance. It is all life though, in this moment. Today is Halloween.