Interview with Riley Bauer
1. By recognizing that bird chatter is more than just “background noise,” how do you feel more interconnected with the natural world?
By taking a moment to recognize bird chatter as more than "background noise", I feel more connected to the natural world because I am taking time to see the songs and the sounds that birds make as conscious communication between the birds. In taking an effort to listen to them as individuals, I believe that it shows that everything in nature has value. When we reduce birdsongs to background noise, it lessens their meaning to us. Each bird has a reason for the song they sing. It's just like how we have a reason for everything we say and sing - by focusing on the sound that the birds make, I think it can help realize that birds are being too, not just part of a world passing by us. They're part of our world, and we're part of theirs. They probably hear us talking too, and they might even like to listen sometimes!
2. What was one of the earliest significant sounds that you can remember in your life, and how did it affect you? (For example, the sound of an ice cream truck, or a thunderstorm, etc.)
One of the earliest sounds that I remember having a significant impact on me was the sound of thunder. As a kid I was absolutely terrified of storms, so any time I heard thunder I would get so anxious that I would make myself sick. Even if the sky was clear and I heard something that sounded like thunder, it would bring me to a panic. But, once while I was camping with my grandpa Gary and my grandma Kathy, I heard a clap of thunder in the distance. There were some clouds in the sky, but in hindsight it wasn't really enough to tell us that a storm was coming. My grandma Kathy told me the phrase, "pink at night, sailor's delight, pink at morning, sailor's warning". I know some people say it a little differently, but that's how she said it to me. The sky was turning pink that afternoon, so according to that phrase, it must have been okay (at least in the way I interpreted it back then). From that day on, each time I heard thunder I would check outside (even if it wasn't late enough for the sky to change color) and say that phrase, and it helped me overcome most of my fear of storms. Even though it's been about eleven years since my grandma Kathy passed away, I still say that phrase when I hear thunder.
3. If you could only choose one song to record and save for the future, what would it be and why?
Choosing only one song to record and save for the future is definitely a challenge for me, but after some thought, I think I would choose the song Little Bitty by Alan Jackson. This is a song that's always brought happy memories forward for me. I like that the song embraces the idea of the little things in life and says that it's okay to just enjoy the things you have, even if they aren't very flashy. Saving it for the future would seem like a good idea to me because I think in the future, whether it be myself or my family, everyone could be reminded that they don't have to be in the biggest house or have the flashiest things to enjoy life. It's important to embrace the small and the simple things. I have always thought that it's better to live in the moment and appreciate what you have rather than being so focused on how things could be bigger and better to the point where you never got to slow down and live in the moment.
Riley Bauer is a 22-year-old student attending Eastern Illinois University and is from Roxana, IL. He is pursuing a master’s degree in Creative Writing with a minor in Premodern Global Studies and a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. His short story “The Rabbit King” was published in the Spring 2022 edition of The Vehicle. Aside from writing, Riley enjoys martial arts and spending time in nature.