LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

I remember when i was still in the Philippines, I hear loud music every time, jeeps and other vehicles blowing their horns left and right, some singing to their videoke/ karaokes for which they have no idea how much they are torturing their neighbours with their out of tune songs! Some have their parties all night with matching amplifiers and microphones and if not live bands, some rock music that it's only them who appreciate their music. It's noise everywhere! When i arrived here in the States, it's an entirely opposite of what i have been used to. The place is so quiet and to make it exaggerated, you can hear a pin drop. Very seldom you will see people mingling outside their homes. You might see one or two probably when one neighbour is doing their gardening and they exchange a couple of greetings. This early evening upon reaching home, i checked our mailbox and one letter came from our neighbour who lives next on our right. They were informing us that they are going to have their daughter's 21st birthday party on Saturday and that music will be louder than usual and there will be more cars parked along the street. At the same time, they said, we are welcome to pop in and have a drink with them. The best part is, they said, if we think that if their music or the party is too loud, we can ring them up and they gave their mobile phone number which they will have it handy all the time and they thanked us in advance for our understanding.