Jangling jingles

The Walls' jingle was the subject of letters to The Jakarta Post by Mr. Babcock (July 4) and Mr. Hobman (July 16).

I think that particular jingle irritates many people greatly because we all know it can easily be toned down if the ice cream vendors, apart from sales techniques, also received instruction on proper behavior by the Walls company and its distributors.

I should have complained years ago about the high-decibel noise when Walls started invading my area, but I did not know how to go about it. Now that Mr. Babcock has introduced the subject, I think I should also contribute to the effort to overcome noise pollution. These past few months the Walls carts have gradually jingled themselves out of my area for reasons unknown to me. Looking for greener pastures, I hope.

As Mr. Babcock pointed out, it is not the only noise polluter in residential areas. Residents opening their car doors by remote control may also disturb the neighborhood if the sound of their "toy" is so loud as to rap mercilessly on one's eardrums. A slowly passing car or a stationary vehicle with music at full blast is also a nuisance. Vendors of martabak and other cooked food lustily hitting their frying pans on their rounds intrude into the quiet of the neighborhood in the evening.

I subscribe to any preventive regulations against noise which compel people to show restraint in producing sound, electronic or otherwise. The latter includes the voices of people who talk loudly into their cellular "poser" phones in restaurants.

S. HARMONO

Jakarta