Re: Must-read newspaper articles

[Noise - Citizens Against <cg343@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Michael,

> 
>    I think frowning on speech is going a little too far.  One 
>    of my complaints about our modern noise culture is 
>    that it is suppressing human conversation and conviviality.
> 
   I must say, I was  quite surprised when I read that. Here's an excerpt:

 "The lack of speech takes some getting used to. 
The need to  communicate is constant. It's 
during mealtime that the silence is most 
noticeable. Buffet-style meals are served at 
specific times during the day in a large dining 
hall. Special dietary-need meals wait on a side 
counter, next to a name card. Retreatants sit six 
to a table, 30 people in total, and not a word is 
spoken.        
 As time wares <sic> on, fellow 
retreatants become accustomed to communicating 
silently. Gestures assume the place of 
words."     


         - Eric