The light of day gives people more security, it makes them more accepting of strange happenings; everything takes on a more sinister meaning when the sun sets. Walking down the street a night, most people become jumpy and hypersensitive to their surroundings-- the shadow in the alleyway might be something dangerous: a person ready to steal your money or an animal ready to attack.
Especially in Albany, the student population is frightened inside or relegated to a few select nightspots. If you are out and about under the stars, you are expected to have some target destination and traveling companions. Albany is not a wanderer’s city, or so we are cautioned.
On the whole, wholesome Albany goes to sleep by dusk.
Autumn’s been peeling away the precious daylight hours, and with it my chance at doing my mundane mischief. My confidence in completing the project diminishes, because the night brings out my own brand of fears. I may have some bold ideas, but I am afraid of frightening people. I am afraid of getting the cops called on me, because I approached a fearful person. Just once in my life, did a stranger threaten to call the police on me. I actually felt the adrenalin surge out into my bloodstream. I wondered if I’d really done anything wrong, but I wasn’t going to stick around and find out. I’ve known too many people who were arrested because the police just found them to be suspicious. They were later released, but I’d still like to avoid that.
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