10:05 a.m. - 2002-09-13
The Hearing Trumpet
Last night was full of aural excitement. Not a good night for sleeping.
I wasn't very sleepy anyway, and at about 12:30 I noticed an odd tapping noise coming from the air conditioning vent on our ceiling. I couldn't ignore it, and it didn't go away. So I did what I always do when something bugs me and I can't sleep - I woke up Bruce.
"Bruce, there's a tapping noise." I announced, in a loud voice.
"Huminuh" said Bruce, encumbered by his anti-snoring machine, which makes it nearly impossible for him to talk.
"Can't you hear it?" I'm nothing if not persistent.
Bruce removed his face mask and resignedly came over to stand under the vent. He stared at it searchingly for a few minutes. "It's the expansion of the duct work", he proclaimed, and headed back to bed.
I couldn't think of a more unsatisfactory explanation, especially because it was 12:30 at night and I couldn't sleep. I was sure it was a wood boring insect, or perhaps the ghost of the previous owner trying to tap out a message about the care of her rose bushes.
We never did figure it out, although by the time I finally let Bruce go back to sleep we had used a stepladder, a flashlight and a screwdriver to try and find an explanation. I spent the rest of the night with earplugs.
*******************************************
The earplugs didn't help though, when at 5 a.m. I was woken up by the most bizarre sort of rolling, squeaking noise outside the window. It sounded like demonic rubber ducks going at each other. Of course I woke Bruce up again, but by the time we got a flashlight and went to the window it had abruptly stopped.
It was probably....chipmunks? Squirrels? Raccoons? Mr. Groundhog? Rubber Duckies from Hell?
0 comments
