When I was a very small child I had a terrible fear of the dark. My imagination could turn the silhouette of almost anything into the monster that was sure going to consume me the instant I closed my eyes. I distinctly remember crying one night, when I was about 4 years old, because I was sure that the boogieman was waiting inside my clothes closet. My Mother had to turn on a light and try to reason with me that, all I was seeing was the outline of my dresses hanging on the closet pole. She tried to show me that in the darkness, what I was viewing was the silhouette of a dress, but I would not buy into her story. She was getting annoyed and told me if I would close my eyes I would not be able to see the monster, In other words, "shut up and go to sleep".

Looking back, this was probably the beginning of my desire to keep my eyes open through the night. I was positive at the time that Mother was a part of this conspiracy and was somehow possessed by the evil monster. Together they were in cahoots to steal my very soul, as I lay sleeping, with my eyes closed, as ordered by my very own Mother. The fact that my brother, who is 18 months older, figured out how to play on my fear of darkness, was also a contributing factor in the equation. He would be sure to sneak up on me and spook me as children love to do. The thing was, I was extremely gullible and this was to his advantage. To this day I do not enjoy horror films or freaky stories and I will give that disdain to my brother's youthful efforts.

There came a time and, I am not sure when but, I found myself interested in astrology. I was reading as much about the subject as I could and I realized that this could also have something to do with my nocturnal love affair. I do honestly and naturally love the wee hours of the morning. You see I was born in the sign of LEO and that is where many of the other planets were resting when I made my debut on this Earth. Not only is my sun sign residing in Leo but an additional six planets were lined up there as I made my worldly entrance. It is not uncommon for more than one planet to be located in the same house at birth but, it is unusual to have more than half of the planets in the same house. Leo is the king of the cat family and cats are considered nocturnal creatures, so there I found another explanation for my comfort in the night time hours.

Mom Was Always Trying To Feed Me Vegatables And Fruits Because I Was Always Tired During The Day

I spent a good bit of time with my head down on my desk at school. It caused me a considerable amount of grief from those poor souls who were trying their best pound some sort of education into my sleepy head. I am living proof that you can learn while you are sleeping. Just because my eyes were closed did not mean that I was not giving them my full attention. They did not see it that way but my test scores usually left them dumb founded.

My Mother made us go to bed very early because she was sure that we needed "mucho" hours in the sack. I was climbing out of bed and crawling past my relaxing parents before I started grade-school. I would watch them, from my position on the floor and silently crawl behind our couch when the coast was clear. I could watch TV and listen to their adult conversation without anyone taking notice of my mission.

There were times when I would get cold and return to my bed to retrieve a blanket so that I could be more comfortable in my secret hiding place. This habit went on for some time before I got busted. One morning I woke up behind the couch to the call of my Mother trying to find me when she did not find me in bed. UGH! That might have been the beginning of my understanding of "little white lies", avoiding a good ass whippin was another personality trait I developed at a young age. That would make an entirely different Hub, so I will leave it at that.

I decided I wanted to be an artist at the age of 7 or so. I did not like the continual battle over who was going to watch what?, on TV every night. My generation was lucky to have one TV and the other kids spent hours arguing their best, to gain channel control. I liked the quiet time I could spend away from them. The best time was the night time. They would settle in front of the tube and I would retreat to a place where I could pursue some sort of creative adventure.

I made a purple dinosaur pinata, with pink polka dots, in my bedroom at the cost of my new carpeting. I thoughtfully stowed all of the materials in my bedroom and while everyone else was sleeping I crafted this pinata from a giant balloon. It was the envy of my Spanish class but Mother was not too happy. I got glue all over my carpeting and my homemade concoction for paper mache' did not want to come clean. Thank you to God that my oldest brother was in the carpet cleaning business.

The darkness creeped me out so I learned to stick a towel along the crack of my door at night. Mom would bid me sweet dreams and, I would wait until all was silent. That is when I would start on my projects. That is also when I started climbing out my bedroom window to face my wildest fears. The window ledge was fine for my first few excursions but in time it was a silent, drop and roll, to the ground and out into the darkness.

I climbed trees and perched where I would not be noticed. You can learn a great deal from hiding, in the dark, in a tree and, observing your neighbors. It was exciting and creepy all in the same package. I have to admit that a few of my night time jaunts left my heart racing until the day light hours. I would regularly ditch my bed for the streets until I was old enough to get a job and go to work. I never got caught escaping the house at night. That lead me to believe that God was watching over me.

Night Work Is Always My Favorite

There is something about the people who are active in the night world that appeals to me. I do much of my shopping in the wee hours of the morning to this day. My friends call me crazy and I am constantly being warned of the evils that take place in the after-hour. I continue my night work and try to make the most of it whenever it befits my schedule. The one thing I know for sure is that experiencing the night and all that it encompasses leads me to understand and respect the day light for all it is worth.

My creative self always seems to shine the brightest at 3AM, I call this the "witching hour". I would go to bed at 11AM and get up at 5Pm everyday if I could. I would be able to fish during the best times, early morning and late evening. I would be able to work at my crafts, writing and drawing, woodburning and designing and the "witching hour" would be my creative best time. The darkness is so quiet and still I think it opens a door between me and God. There I have no fear.