William Ledbetter

FEAR Everyone

I’ve been a mentor, counselor, and most importantly, a friend of his for a little over three years now. Still, I know him better than anyone, including himself. For example, I know that white noise is an unwelcome concept to him. Within any privately occupied space, sound must be purposeful. That over which he has no control––automobile engines, sirens, sounds of the city and the like––have to be blocked with earplugs when concentration or sleep is required. Fortunately, that’s not often a necessity because he lives in what is as close to the “country” as one can be while still within the metropolitan city limits. At the moment, however, his personal ban on audible distraction was lifted allowing the television on the wall of his study to speak freely.