Let there be light?

Sep 30, 2005 by Naomi.

Now it seems that enough folks are up in the night hours to want the neighborhood lit up like day. Why? I can’t figure it out. Another street light was installed recently on the street along the apartments beyond a row of lofty Ponderosa pines a few hundred feet from my house. That’s another light to make my star gazing more difficult and I am annoyed.

There are always rumors of theft that multiply as they spread but to make night into day is impossible. The galvanized wash tub stolen from my back yard years ago could have as easily been taken in broad daylight. Anyone cruising along the paths in the pines would know by frequent passing when I was away and judge the length of my absence.

We have lost our ability, at least our desire, to see in the dark. Long, long ago our ancestors developed keen eyesight to find their way. Fires kept predators at bay, perhaps, but exploring was done without light. And certainly land was conquered and population spread without it.

Every room in my house is lit well enough by the digital lights of technology so I don’t need to switch lights on in every room. The neighbors’ glaring porch lights almost blind me making it difficult if not impossible to identify an intruder in the yard if I had to.

As winter approaches a bright porch light welcomes morning paper deliveries and lights their way along the streets. I don’t begrudge them that amenity. And you know what? I can’t move into the open country for a lot of reasons so I will shade my eyes and appreciate the light when I need it. But I do hate to give up the stars.

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