Friday, June 30, 2006
The Magic Hour
I woke at The Magic Hour again last night.Why is it that my body insists alertness is the answer to 4am? I didn’t even realize it was a question.
Someone told me it's The Magic Hour. Was it Jayne? I can’t remember. But I lay there in bed, talking to B (we are a synchronous duo… if one is awake, so is the other). Silence for a while, and I thought about my latest work on my 3rd novel, and some of the character’s plotlines. Believe it or not, that’s relaxing and fun. But I was still awake, darn it. Why???
4am here in Los Angeles, and my kitties were engaged in Greco-Roman style wrestling, which if you’re wondering, sounds like a bag of bowling-balls escaping down a flight of stairs (… and no, that didn’t wake me… I’m used to that sound by now). But what of the rest of the world….?
In London, all the workers were headed to lunch or other noon-time forays, or perhaps to a camping store to buy a pair of neon-polka-dotted Wellies (wink to Ms. Edis).
The midnight bell had sounded in Kamchatka, far east Russia, and I suspect they were all doing their best to stay warm under heavy blankets, likely sound asleep, not thinking about tomorrow’s musk-oxen milk and mush breakfast. With an average of less than one person per 1 sq. kilometer, I hope they all have someone to snuggle with. Or at least a musk oxen. If I had a pet musk oxen, I’d name him Woolbert.
In Addis Ababa, the young school children are perhaps taking a 2pm break from learning how to spell Addis Ababa.
In Washington D.C., it’s 7am, and ole Monkey-Boy is probably up to no good (now who could I mean?). I’m sure he doesn’t know how to spell Addis Ababa.
In Sydney & Melbourne, it was 9 o’clock at night, and I fancifully envisioned people enjoying late dinners, movies at the Cineplex surrounded by lots of eucalyptus trees filled with waking koalas, ready for a night of languorous leaf munching.
In Hong Kong, it’s 1pm, and everyone is eating ice cream and posing with large mutant unmarried mice at Hong Kong Disneyland.
In New York City, tourists are waking for a day of theatre-induced euphoria and shopping (insert withdrawl pang here) in one of the greatest cities of the USA.
In Mumbai (Bombay) India, the NYC of India, it’s 4:30pm, and the monsoon season is underway, along with sweltering humidity and lots of sweaty monkeys and cows. Maybe people are at the movies, watching some fun dancey 3-hour Bollywood musical to escape the heat.
In Cairo, Egypt, it’s 2pm and it’s just too hot to be fighting the bustling markets. Home to a nice lunch and some fruit and bread with a view of the Sphynx, and maybe a nice nap. Or some repelling off the pyramids.
In Venice, it’s 1pm, it’s 89* and fairly humid, but who cares, it’s Venice, Italy. A good cure for humidity: A windy vaparetto ride or a shady stroll down a cool, dark calle to a charming little cafe for some yummy crust-free sandwiches and a nice cool drink. And maybe some nice Burano cookies.
I know how much fun they’re having in Venice, the city that captured me completely. The color soaked buildings, the mermaid green water, the museums and churches filled with art. The shopping. The asparagus risotto. The freaking-incredible gellato. The views 'round every corner that take your breath away. The handsome Gondolieri with those cute hats. My body remembers all the fun those lucky souls are having there at 1pm in Venice.
And that must be why it wakes me up at 4am.
~Shephard :)
posted by Shephard @ 