Sunsets

As I kid, I hated sunset. After school I would tear into the house, run upstairs and put "play clothes" on, and just as I ran out the door my mother would yell, "Be home before dark!" Sunsets meant no more running through the woods, or playing in the creek, or skateboarding with Jon and Jeff. It meant dinner and homework and horror of all horrors, bedtime. What could be worse?!

Like most land-dwelling adults, I love sunsets. Especially in Dublin, its my favorite time of day. The streets are lined with people trudging home from the office or elsewhere, exhausted from long days. The city slows down just enough to be peaceful. The sky is swirled in vibrant pastels and the stone buildings glow in the setting sun. The dirty city is for a few moments transformed into a luminous Arcadia. Its perfection.

Now if I was only awake for sunrise...