The Powerful Sound of a Broom

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A man sweeps snow with a broom in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: P.M. Lydon | CC BY-SA)
A man sweeps snow with a broom in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: P.M. Lydon | CC BY-SA)
A man sweeps snow with a broom in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: P.M. Lydon | CC BY-SA)

The standard morning here offers a varied menu of sounds: chirping, click-clacking, chatter moving towards the subway station.

On the days when either leaves or a dusting of snow are present along the pathways you can add to this menu, the delicate sound of sweeping.

Straw broom in hand.

Perhaps a stubborn adherence to the belief in the value of human labor and work ethic, or a calculated benefit, the pinnacle of ecological energy efficiency, the avoidance pollution (both of noise and smoke).

My favorite though, has to be the social; simple conversations between the person working and persons passing by on the street “Good morning! Thank you for sweeping the snow!” and “You’re welcome! Have a good day!”

Such was the scene and menu of sounds this morning.

Today I am glad, that the leaf blower never caught on in South Korea.

Wishing a bright Winter Solstice to you all!

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