I Love The Night

The house is quiet. I’ve convinced myself when it’s this quiet I can hear the electricity in the walls. I hear something at a very low volume. Real or imagined? Can’t tell.

Every once in a while someone will see me on Twitter or Facebook at 3:00 or 4:00 AM and make a comment. Most of the time it’s something along the lines of, “What are you doing up at this hour?”

It’s when I’m up. It’s my choice. I’m nocturnal.

I’m not sure what it is about this quiet and desolation but it calls me like a Siren.

“What were you doing up ’til 4:00 AM,” Helaine has asked?

Nothing important. Nothing earth shattering. Lots of reading. Moderate amounts of procrastination.

I’m a voracious reader though usually not books. I read with depth about technology, business and politics. Everything else gets skimmed.

I favor websites with depth that are updated often. I bore easily.

TV gets a little thin this time of day. Much of basic cable goes into infomercial mode. Mostly the TV is off or if it’s on it’s on mute.

The house is quiet. I’ve convinced myself when it’s this quiet I can hear the electricity in the walls. I hear something at a very low volume. Real or imagined? Can’t tell.

Walking outside this time of day can be stunning. I’d rather have no Moon and a sky full of stars. It’s dark enough here to appreciate the night sky.

Doppler spends the night with me. I pluck her from upstairs when I get home from work. Tonight like most nights she is asleep on the couch. She’s curled up forming the letter “O.”

I’ll be up at least a few more hours. I don’t want to miss anything.

After Midnight Is My Prime Time

Nowadays bedtime is somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 AM. Much of my adult life has been spent working nights. Others complain. It’s my comfort zone.

It is just after midnight. The crickets are chirping. The night is still. The world around me is quiet. This is my time of day.

I wish I could tell you why. I’ve always been nocturnal. Nowadays bedtime is somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 AM. Much of my adult life has been spent working nights. Others complain. It’s my comfort zone.

Maybe my folks know why? I remember being like this as a teenager. I’m not sure how I did it in the extremely close quarters of our Queens apartment.

It’s not hard to figure out this time of day is not prime. There’s nothing on TV that’s live. There’s lots that’s throwaway–time filler stuff. If you only knew some of the infomercials that air this time-of-day!

My friends on the West Coast get to hear from me. Is that a good or bad thing?

Most nights I’m still awake after they go to sleep!

Life was good when my friend Farrell was in Singapore. Separated by half-a-world (12 time zones) I was around for his afternoon. We chatted online nearly every day.

When people hear about my hours they’re not as surprised by my bedtime as by my wake-up, usually just after noon.