ew Noisy Neighbors

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Visitors to Lilliland and new residents often comment on how quiet their neighbors are. When they have family parties, the music is subdued and the conversation is not loud. Other neighbors do not find their rest period disturbed, for the most part.

While there were no hard and fast rules for the music or noise levels, it appeared to be the custom in Lilliland. This custom was not found in too many countries, but it continued in Lilliland.

The Baron, Lady Angela and Professor Hamblin often commented on the natural peacefulness of their lives. They pointed out that the reason might not always be in absolute consideration of their neighbors.

The custom was that if an outsider could hear the music from a party, it meant that he was an invited guest to the affair. He then was welcome to attend the party and join in the festivities.

Even though he was not invited, he would not consider crashing the party because the invitation was open to anyone who could hear the music.

Because, as in most parties, space, food, and drink were limited to those on the guest list, by playing loud music the guest list spilled over to any neighbor who could hear the sounds from the party.

If the event was a bridal shower or baby christening, then outsiders could join even though they might not know anyone at the affair, or be a relative of the family.

If people wanted to keep their party private and limited to a specific guest list, the host tended to keep the music at an appropriate low level.

Lilliland Hotel guests had an information card in their rooms that mentioned the custom. If a guest was having a private party in his hotel suite, and left the door open, and outsiders heard the music, they could just walk in and feel that they had been invited to the party. While one could make a lot of new friends that way, it would be difficult to have a small intimate party without running the risk of having more people attend than originally planned.

Over time, the Baron thought that this custom would change, but it never did. New people to the country quickly caught on to any of Lilliland’s unique customs.

It came down to the fact that the host could control the size of the party by raising or lowering the volume of the music at the social event.