It’s midnight — 12:00 a.m., or the witching hour. Elsewhere in this world it is a different time, maybe sunset at the other end of the country, maybe sunrise to the east. People in those places are doing something that is different from what is being done here and now. In some individual places nearby the night shift has just settled in, geared up for work. Some people are in bed asleep. And, the bartender at the saloon has fleetingly thought about the key to lock the door, when the time comes for that. In the apartment building, someone is in the laundry as it is a chance at the machines. And, someone is taking the dog out for the last time.
It’s 8:00 a.m. The property manager just slipped into the office. A construction worker outside is carrying equipment somewhere. Daylight streams in through the windows while residents who were asleep at midnight drift outside to look at the morning in the outside world. Nearby office workers are settled in, and since it is mid-month no one is rushing to pay a bill. As has been said, someone will die today and someone else will be born. And, someone may get married, be fired or get a job. EMTs may or may not be here. The media has presented its morning offering of yesterday’s news. The dog’s up and eager for the day’s events.
It’s 6:00 p.m. People employed by the old folks’ home left, except for the maintenance that lives in the place on call for emergencies. The residents have run their errands to the grocery, the doctor, the government offices, the bank or wherever else they need to go, and the television beckons, the bingo waits and the friend down the hall is outside watching the traffic on the bridge across the river. Those not-so-well look to bed with a wish for a better tomorrow. The homeless person downtown heads for a free meal, a mat for the night and more at the shelter eight blocks away. It’ll take a while to walk it. The would-be sophisticated look to the evening haunts. Midnight comes soon.
Some things can be a lot longer than they are….
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