Hour of the Pearl

Wednesday August 3, 2005

 I was up at 4:30 for my pre-dawn, pre-work run. There's something magical starting out in the pitch-black darkness and watching the darkness turn to daylight as some divine master of the universe slowly turns up the dimmer switch. My favorite author John Steinbeck calls it the "Hour of the Pearl." Here is an excerp from Cannery Row:

"After the light has come and before the sun has risen--the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself. No automobiles are running then. The streets are silent of progress and business. And the rush and drag of the waves can be heard as they splash in among the piles of the canneries." 

Well I had to imagine the waves and the canneries but the sunrise was heart stopping. It was coming up behind me, ironically on Sunset Road. So several times I just had to stop and take it all in and thank God I had lived to see such a beautiful sight.

I'll spare you the daily numbers rap sheet. They're all good. Lois is good too. The neighbor hospitalized now minus her appendix. She said she's doing fine and will be released Thursday. Remember when major surgery kept one in the hospital a week or more? She told me not to worry that she would be well enough to watch my cats when I go to Buffalo in 2 1/2 weeks. I told her not to concern herself with that now that the cats would be cared for one way or another. But I'm glad she's doing well, will be out soon and will be able to cat sit too.