Idle Talk

I live on the second floor and face Second Avenue, a six lane thoroughfare that moves huge numbers of people and things in a downtown direction 24 hours a day. I am so used to the sound of traffic that I sleep through it regularly. As a matter of fact, I have trouble sleeping when I'm in a place that doesn't have noise all night long. 

But lately, in the wee morning hours, the sound of certain large truck engines has awakened me. When I look out my window to see if  the noise is being made by an emergency vehicle of some kind, more often than not, it is being caused by a Fresh Direct truck. Now I realize that people have gotten very attached to ordering groceries online and having them delivered to their doors ASAP. I've never felt the need myself since I live in a location where I can walk out my door and find supermarkets and specialty food stores no farther than two blocks away (in any direction) and they all deliver....but who am I to say this company is not providing a useful service? 

Who are they delivering to at 3AM? No, I think the drivers are actually using these quiet moments (for them anyway) to nap in the cabs of the trucks. Because the trucks are refrigerated, they  feel they have to keep the engine idling during these sojourns.

I recently visited New Zealand and we spent several days touring via bus. One morning, the driver felt the need to explain why the bus was cold.  He apologized that  he could not turn on the heat ahead of time because in NZ it is against the law for cars, trucks and buses to let their engines idle while parked. When asked why he explained that idling wastes gas and pollutes the air with exhaust fumes and noise. Hmmmm. New Zealand is the first country every January 1st to celebrate the New Year and they are way out ahead of us in other ways as well.