Silent Night...Don't Think So

Our dog Tucker woke me up in the middle of the night last night. Seems he had to go visit his favorite tree in the backyard. It was a nice night, so I stayed out with him, enjoying the silence. Until I realized that it wasn’t being a silent night at all. In fact, it was pretty darn noisy. I could hear the rumble of trucks rolling down the expressway in the distance. The haunting wail of a siren off somewhere in the darkness. Far off car horns every few seconds. The sound of a red eye leaving a vapor trail across the moon. The world doesn’t sleep anymore does it? Used to be when the sun would set...the world would settle in for the night. The street lights would come on and day was done. Not any more. Now, all over town, you can get fries with that at three AM. You can do your grocery shopping, banking, pick up your dry cleaning...gamble your paycheck away even in the wee hours. And with the internet...earth is open for business 24/7. Thumbs are texting...IMs are M-ing...you can buy a plane ticket or new underpants or watch Jimmy Stewart sing Buffalo Gals...all by the late night light of the moon. That not so silent night got me thinking. I don’t believe the world is getting enough sleep. I'm pretty sure that’s why it’s so cranky.