Why am I awake at this hour?

Alright, 1:43AM is not that late, but I do have to get up at 7AM to get Nefarious to school, so on an ideal night I would be sleeping. However, the 150db industrial fire alarm in this building just spent the last half hour deafening me — although somehow Nefarious managed to sleep through it all. I don’t know if I should be worried for her safety should there be an actual fire, or if I should be jealous that she can literally sleep through anything. The reason the alarm woke everyone but her in the building is that some drunk shoeless dude climbed up onto the roof and thought that pulling the fire alarm would be a good way to get his estranged girlfriend to come outside and talk to him. Thanks a lot. I love drunk asshole logic. I’m guessing he’s in jail for the night now, but maybe he drunkenly fell off the roof and shares the fate of this squirrel that I saw on the way to my phlebotomist last morning. Rather than dwell on thoughts of violence perhaps I will include it all in some sort of imaginary Guy Fawkes night merriment.

On the bright side, I must admit that the fresh air of this well-lit night with an unusually large nearly full moon and sheet of stars behind a light dusting of illuminated clouds, with the crispness of a day filled with light rain, at just the perfect temperature and humidity to remind me of cool ocean mist was nice, and I hope will enchant my dreams with visions of the sea. If not, zombie squirrels I suppose.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

dead-squirrel

8 Comments

  1. Anselm wrote:

    That poem is brilliant. Is that original?

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 3:04 am | Permalink
  2. Shannon wrote:

    It’s the last of three verses in John Masefield’s Sea Feaver. You probably know the oft quoted line “And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by”

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5:00 am | Permalink
  3. Elizabeth wrote:

    Beautiful black squirrel, I have only seen one of these in real life. Was a regular back porch visitor in Macon whom we fed.
    No moon compares to the harvest moon, I’ve been loving it too, hugely.
    And oh, oh, you mentioned Guy Fawkes on this fifth of November! <3

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 9:28 am | Permalink
  4. Anselm wrote:

    Thanks, Shannon, that’s beautiful!

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 10:26 am | Permalink
  5. Caitlin wrote:

    Black squirrels are taking over the universe here in Toronto. Much more common than grey ones!

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 10:34 am | Permalink
  6. Glen wrote:

    https://jalopnik.com/5398864/local-motors-rally-fighter-the-first+ever-creative-commons-car

    Saw this, and instantly thought of you. Crowd-sourced uber-car? Yup, that’s something for Shannon.

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 3:11 pm | Permalink
  7. Shannon wrote:

    Love what they’re doing!

    Friday, November 6, 2009 at 3:13 pm | Permalink
  8. Casey wrote:

    In regards to your little one sleeping thru a fire alarm – most kids will sleep though them. Here (US) they actually have alarms that you can program with your own voice. Most kids will wake up to them (you can youtube videos of this I’m sure) and you can give instructions that may be forgotten in a panic “Wake up, crawl to the door” etc.

    Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 11:21 pm | Permalink
Wow Shannon, that's really annoying! What is it, 1997 on Geocities? Retroweb is NOT cool!

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