Listen up!

Just the other day, I was walking in a park in South Austin, Texas, a park with trails in a woodsy area that makes it feel like I’m miles away from the noise and busy streets of the city, even though I am not. I like hiking this area. I have seen deer, and many different types of birds, even some roadrunners. If it rains (which it doesn’t – there is a drought after all), there is a nice little stream. People walk their dogs, ride mountain bikes, or run the trails. You can hear birds singing and the leaves rustling in the breeze.

The other day, I heard a pig. Normally I would think I was imagining things, but there have been problems with wild pigs in central Texas and I’m from Iowa, so I do know what a pig sounds like. So I listened again and heard that grunting noise and I decided to run, because those are some scary animals. Just to make sure, I called my brother and asked, “Wild pigs are mean, right?” And he told me, “Oh yeah, get out of there.” So I did, keeping a vigilant eye out for anything moving, scoping out trees that I could climb if I was charged by a feral pig and his friends. It could happen and has. Look it up (okay, you can look it up here).

It made me think about people who walk and run while listening to their iPods or other MP3 players. It made me think of people who are in a strange place, in another country, who are walking around with ear buds. I may be old school, but since I can hear, I like to hear what is going on, for enjoyment and for safety. When I’m walking in that park, I like to hear the mockingbirds singing, or the sound of brush cracking when a deer starts to run, or the crunching footsteps of an approaching runner. If I had been listening to Adele or the latest podcast of Car Talk on my iPod, I definitely would not have heard the pig. Who knows what would have happened? Pigs can be nasty little buggers. Very aggressive. I know stories too disgusting to tell in this blog. Trust me on this. When you are blasting music in your own private concert, walking along with only you and the songs, totally entranced by a voice or beat, just remember that pigs come in many shapes and sizes. I’m just sayin’.

This also makes me think about you women out there traveling on your own. I know some of you are just not yourselves without your music. When you are on a plane, flying to a faraway place, then yes, an iPod is an awesome travel companion. But when exploring new lands, don’t tune out so much that you miss what is going on around you once you are off that plane. Don’t be so into that new Florence and the Machine album that you don’t hear someone running up behind you to steal your bag. Don’t ignore the noise of the market, or what a little girl is saying to her mother (even if you don’t speak the language), or the story the elderly man next to you on the bus is eager to tell you (even if you don’t speak the language). Sometimes you just need to unplug to get the full experience. Sometimes you should unplug for your own safety. And sometimes unplugging ends up plugging you in to an experience that sounds pretty amazing.