"Alarm Bells"

I heard a guy tell a story the other day about a man sitting in his hotel room when the fire alarm went off. He did what I admit having done in a similar situation; nothing! Pretty risky thing to do I suppose, but speaking at least for myself I am conditioned to ignoring alarms.

The fire alarm is a loud, very literal example of a warning, the ignoring of which could lead to tangible and potentially serious consequences.

In contrast there's the silent alarm. Obviously it's a lot more subtle and actually intended to go unnoticed by the perpetrator, even though he may suspect that an alarm is going off somewhere, but still an alarm with potential serious consequences.

I think I'm pretty good at ignoring both kinds of alarms, but mine only go off in my head! Some are blaring and warn of immediate danger, and some are quieter but no less ominous.

Are you listening to your alarms? Maybe you're in danger?

"Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not."---Ursula K. Le Guin

...and maybe the reason I ignore alarms is because I'm so brave...

"I'm not saying my wife's a bad cook, but she uses a smoke alarm as a timer."--- Bob Monkhouse

love
peter