Clarity

I got up early today, fed the cat (even though the whiny little shit kept me up all night), and went for a run down by the river. It was a strange thing, because no one was out this morning. Not a single jogger in the park, not a sinlge bum asleep on the benches. Nothing. It was a ghost town. And while that gave me a chance to clear my head, all I could think about was how incredibly creepy and silent it was.

After about a half hour I got home and showered. I peeked through the blinds as I was getting ready and it was still all too quiet outside. I briefly thought that it might have been a daylight savings time switchover that I wasn't aware of, but that was disproved by the local TV morning show. A quick call to the time & teperature line confirmed my fear that the morning show had the time wrong as well.

I got dressed, got in my car, and that's when I caught my first glimpse of civilization. Then, everything went right back to how it always has been in the morning. I stopped a QuikTip for my morning coffee and chicken biscuit, and I got bugged for change by one guy as I was going in and two guys on my way out. Yep, everything was back to normal.

Why was I so weirded out by the fact that for a brief time this morning, I was completely left alone? I should've relished in it. There was no polite nodding to strangers as I passed them on the running trail. I didn't have to worry about what I was doing, like, if my run suddenly looked a little effeminate when I sensed a slight cramp in my thigh. I didn't have to concern myself with keeping my thoughts to myself when I could've just said them out loud.

I gotta remind myself to take stock in those moments. This kind of thing rarely happens at all, especially in the city. I guess that's my advice to you all: Don't question it when a moment of clarity comes your way.