Vibrating Stripes

Walking beyond the garden shed, I followed the quiet asphalt toward the industrial edge where a tall red-and-white crossing gate stood poised over the tracks. I aligned my tall, narrow silhouette against the upright steel counterweight tower, pausing until the distant truck rumble faded. Suspended from the horizontal boom hung a long, red-striped aluminum skirt slat meant to block the curb. I extended one spindly arm and lightly flicked the flat metal strip with a knuckle. It bounced with a sharp, ringing twang that shuddered down the boom. My twin speakers answered with a crisp burst of modulated static clicks before settling into quiet.