SONG OF THE SIREN

Police and Ambulance sirens are downright creepy here. As opposed to the usual TV sound effects version, these things are like signals from another world, messages of hopelessness and despair. It literally makes me sick to my head, like this sharp, metallic object is piercing my subconscious, probing my brain for bad thoughts or intentions. Even if you couldn’t possible be in the way, you want to flee for your life, lest you succumb to some kind of permanent brain damage. I speak for the uninitiated, as the natives seem immune, even comforted by this highly effective warning transmission. I’m generally sensitive to this stuff and always cover my ears when some kind of emergency vehicle makes headway somewhere, but there’s no escaping this terror. I hate it.