Summer sounds like a lot of things to me, that much is not even the least bit profound. No matter where you live, summer most obviously sounds like something. It might sound like traffic and trucks and motorcycles. Or it may sound like sirens and air brakes on semi-trucks and the rumble of trains. Whatever your summer sounds like, we can all agree that it sounds like something. The problem is if your summer sounds like something that you can’t stand hearing. Somewhere, maybe in the United States or perhaps in Asia, some poor soul has a summer that sounds like grinding teeth. Closer to home, summer sounds from the city sound to me like a whirling hum of traffic, accentuated by sirens of police, rescue and fire, as they try to keep all those sweaty, work-strapped people in line. My summer, thankfully, sounds more like cicadas.
Not just cicadas, but as the sounds of traffic remain a dull but present dim for those in the city and bustling suburbs, their sound is always present. The backdrop to many sultry summer evenings and even more lazy afternoons has been the ever present sound of my winged friends. While there are thousands of different kinds of cicadas, I have a particular affinity for the variety found in Lake Geneva. Unlike the jarring frequency shattering drone of the cicadas found elsewhere, the sort that pitches from high to low and back to high again, the cicadas in the trees that surround Geneva are of a steady singular pitch. The annoyance of the cicadas that feel like they have to show off by alternating from high to low is something I simply cannot tolerate.
And it’s not that summer sounds solely like cicadas either. A Lake Geneva summer has a very distinct sound, and while there presence of my happily humming cicada friends is ubiquitous from mid July through September, there are other sounds that make a summer spent here both unique and audibly delicious. I’ve often said that no other sound reminds me of Lake Geneva quite like the sound of a wave runner. I can be on a Hawaiian beach and the sound that will take me back to Lake Geneva is the sound of a happily cruising wave runner, a two stroke engine (or four), whistling and whining away. That sound, on the surface, would be an annoyance to some. To me, it’s pure delight. But it’s not the only sound that makes a Lake Geneva summer.
As a child, I can remember the sounds of passing tour boats; their slow moving, floating parties a blend of music and laughing and joyous talking. These boats would slowly slip through the night long after I was supposed to be asleep. The sounds that came from the lake through my bedroom window were always comforting for me to hear. The parties were never obnoxious, and I thought that life would never be so good as when I’m able to ride along on those boat cruises, content to eat and laugh as I enjoyed the spoils of a summer evening boat cruise. Of course I never go on those cruises now, but that doesn’t mean a kid couldn’t dream.
Weekends sound very different than weekdays, which is something that those of you who have had the privilege of spending a weekday or two at Lake Geneva can easily attest. With my office door open, cars pass, but in a lazy fashion. No one seems in any particular hurry today. I can hear a few boats in the distance, more than likely fishermen launching their boats for a day spent on our weekday waters. By the weekend, the laziness will be replaced with the throaty rumble of Streblows and Chris Crafts and Van Dams, as vacationers try their hardest to squeeze out every last drop of a rapidly waning summer.
I don’t feel like I’m making any sense this morning, which should not come as a surprise since I only really effort to make sense 25% of the time. If you can’t fathom what I’m talking about, perhaps it’s best for you to come up to Lake Geneva and just rest. Sit on a lakeside bench or pull up a white Adirondack chair and just listen. You’ll hear exactly what I’m talking about. Sure Lake Geneva provides a welcome change of scenery, but it also provides a peaceful resting place for your weary ears. The sirens and trains and overhead planes will be waiting for you when you return, but for now, for today, just take a quick drive and listen to the soothing sounds of a a still entrenched Lake Geneva summer.