A beep, and a chirp

Am I the only person in the world who is bothered by the beep of a low battery smoke alarm going off intermittently every few seconds? And could this be considered not a gripe, but a question? Our condo lives hunched up with other condos, lining the street like participants in a parade. Any noise travels up and down the street faster than the smell of popcorn down the hallways. It travels far, deep inside my always open windows, and through to my consciousness. If you are a neighbor and you don't think that we fellow compartment dwellers know all of your problems, and arguments intimately then you are sadly delusional. We know everything that you have uttered aloud, from your financial woes, to your dislike of doing the dishes. And should you stop arguing long enough for silence to pervade your abode, then you would know ours also. This beep is literally driving me into territory that I had better not go into. I am sitting at my computer, trying to catch up on the multitude of work that I have in front of me. And I find myself waiting for the next beep, somewhat like being half asleep and waiting to hear the next drip from the leaky faucet in the bathroom. Knowing that you are too sleepy to make a effort to get up and do something about it, but not sleepy enough to ignore it. Hoping that the noise is equally annoying to your oblivious husband, asleep deep in his dreams. It is not time well spent, being frustrated by neighbors who are too lazy or indifferent to change a battery. My time is better spent watching and hoping that the house finches who have only recently discovered a new hanging basket on my deck, choose to move in. It has been my biggest envy when visiting "Lots of Pots" balcony garden last year. He had birds nesting in at least two baskets, the chirping of the newly hatched babies, a song of spring so sweet, it made my heart ache. I think of the dryer lint that we regularly scrape up and dispose of, what those little birds could build with that. The bits and pieces of scrap yarn, and ribbon that I have in my closet, and somehow those thoughts, and the peaceful chirps of happy new residents drowns out the beep. It is only a momentarily break, but that will have to be enough for now.