The 21st century will go down as the noisiest century ever. Yes, noise is relative. One person’s noise is another person’s hip hop rap group. Maybe it’s all noise.

We live in a secure condo a couple of miles from the center of Honolulu. It’s a big city, with city traffic, and city noise. Is there a quiet zone in the city? No.

There was a time when we lived on the 19th floor of a skyscraper facing a park and the ocean, with Waikiki is the distance. Sorry, it was noisy. Every car, every garbage truck, every airplane made enough noise to break the silence.

When the aforementioned were not making noise (sometimes referred to as “sound”), then more noise came from the wind. City life is noisy.

Life on the neighbor islands of Hawaii contrasts remarkably from Honolulu, especially sounds. Or, the lack of similar sounds. Maui and Kona have a bit of traffic at certain times during the day, but not noisy traffic.

There’s noisy wind on Mt. Haleakala on Maui, and Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island, but that’s what you get for trekking up 10,000 feet. Or more.

I’m afraid that “quiet” as we desire it to be, the solace of the soul, a journey for the mind to wander, is gone forever. How does one who lives say, in New York, or Chicago, cope with such constant interruptions to the ears?

Sometimes, particularly in the early morning of a major holiday, I’ll awaken and hear, for a few moments, nothing at all. Dead silence, or as close to it as we get here. Fan noise, or 60 cycle hum doesn’t count.

Amid that moment of silence I honestly think the world has just come to an end and I’m the only person remaining.

The end never lasts.