The Magic Hour

This morning I did something brash and very spur of the moment. At about 4:45am, after lying in bed unable to sleep for a total of 15 minutes, I got up and decided it was time to drive home. I took a shower, loaded my car, and by 5:30 am I was on my way back to Orlando.

I have to say, Tallahassee is a much different place that early in the morning. The streets were empty, small offices and store fronts down Monroe towards I-10 were actually decorated for Christmas–it seemed like a very different place then I am used to. At the gas station I usually fill up at, just before getting on I-10, instead of trading pumps with other kids doing the same thing I was, I was trading pumps with blue collar guys filling up their trucks for the day ahead.

When I first got on I-10 the sky was as dark as could be. It was that time of the very early morning after the moon sets but before the sun begins to rise–other then the headlights of the few cars on the road, there was nothing visible. Then somewhere around Madison (I think) the sky changed to a very dark blue–the sun was preparing to rise. As this happened, for about 10 minutes, I was able to see the stars and it was pretty cool. I remember reading somewhere where the author called this time of day “The Magic Hour.” The Magic Hour gave me a strange energy that told me the decision I had made to forgo sleep and make the 275 mile drive home was actually a good one–then came the rain.

Somewhere just north of Gainesville God opened up the flood gates and decided to deliver a torrential downpour upon us. It just goes to show that God is not a fan of Gainesville. The rain was so bad that for a period of about 5 minutes I couldn’t see anything except the tail lights of the car a hundred yards in front of me. But I wasn’t deterred, I just kept on trucking and by the time I was south of Gainesville the rain was gone.

The rest of the drive went very smoothly–I was even able to listen to the Monsters live on Real Radio which is something that I haven’t been able to do since the summer. I arrived into Orlando around 930, 10 and I’ve got to admit, leaving that early in the morning actually made the drive seem quicker and easier to handle. Though as soon as I got all my stuff out of the call I passed out and didn’t wake up again until well after 300.

Now I’m back in Orlando for the rest of the month. Monday will bring me back to the law firm for one last tour of duty. I’ve got all the Christmas festivities to look forward to, Chad’s wedding, the New Year and the Citrus Bowl. Then it’ll be back to Tallahassee for the final semester of my college career. But I’ll leave that all for another day.