It might not be decorum, and it’s not out there in the world because I’m at home, but I’ll submit this: my next-door neighbors, a pair of charming and delightful young people, have had a low-battery warning beeping in their bedroom smoke alarm for months. Their bedroom faces our driveway and the south side of our house. Twice a minute a shrill electronic chirp sounds. With the windows open in warm weather, it can be heard from every room in my house. My son, who has just been here for a visit, had to sleep with earplugs because of it.
And it has been beeping since before he was here in February; even with the windows closed, it is sharply audible throughout one side of the house, from bedroom to kitchen to dining room and living room. Every 30 seconds, 24 hours a day, for six months!
Last week I took the young couple a baby present because she is due in a few weeks. I asked them about the beep. “Oh, we have to replace a battery,” the husband said sheepishly. Whereupon I grinned and handed him a 9v batter with a bow around it.
We all waited tensely for the next few hours, but no change. It’s still beeping. By now I think they will never replace it. My son says a low battery can go like this for a very, very long time before it finally gives out.
The couple are so nice, I don’t want to antagonize them or embarrass them further, but there are days when I think it’s going to drive me mad.
Is that egregious enough to qualify?