As a kid I lived about five miles as the jet flies from what was
then known as O'Hare Field. Our house was situated directly under a
flight path, and there was a plane either taking off or landing
every 90 seconds or so.
So the music of my childhood pretty much was composed of
rattling windows, chipping china and sonic booms. We all grew
accustomed to the cacophony and, perhaps more importantly, nobody
even thought of doing anything about it. O'Hare was simply a fact
of our lives.
Today, I admire 77-year-old Harry Pusey who took on a like
situation in his hometown of Troon, England, and won. Pusey fought
for two years to modify the Concorde's flight plan to divert the
sonic booms it triggered directly over his house every night.
British Airways has promised to remedy the situation by slowing
the plane down earlier, thus creating the sonic booms over the
ocean. You're quite a guy, Harry Pusey.