After Midnight

“After Midnight we gonna let it all hang out”–Eric Clapton

Until I started driving for Lyft in November of 2015, I had maybe heard the clock strike 12am one New Year’s Eve, five years ago. That is no longer the case. Probably three or four times a month I will find myself driving on a weekend night until two or three in the morning.  A couple of times I have even watched the sun go down and come up.  Time flies when you give 23 rides in a night.  The world changes when the moon is in the middle of the sky.  The single most often question I am asked by riders is “Tell me about your most bizarre ride you have had.”  I have a handful, none of which I am ready to share here… yet. I can tell you they tend to happen After Midnight.

Last week at about 1am, I pulled up in front of a house in the NW part of the Highlands.   Suddenly on the curb in front of me, I began to watch a circus act happening 20 ft. away.  He was juggling fire 🔥 batons, four of them.  It was as impressive as any Vegas act I have ever witnessed. He even had his own music coming loudly from a boom box on the sidewalk.  They were flying, sparkling, and spinning and I was the ONLY one watching.  My ride was taking all of his four minutes to get to the car, and I didn’t care.  Meanwhile, the ‘performer’ did not miss a choreographed beat.  My ride got in and I asked him, “Who is that?”  He glibly said “Oh that’s just my neighbor, he told me he could do this.”  “You have never seen this before?” I questioned.  “Nope, never”.  He didn’t seem all that impressed.  I will tell you, this was my second fire baton experience After Midnight.  The first was when I pulled up in front of a warehouse packed with what can only be described as a scene from Caligula’s Rome. Yes, half-naked women preforming around a bonfire–TRUE!!!

Here is a brief review of what you might see After Midnight: Raccoons, lots of them who dig through the trash cans anywhere and everywhere.  Bunnies, hundreds of them, a herd of them, something like the National Geographic photos from Australia.  A bunch of deer walking down 14th grazing in yards of Victorian homes.  People in handcuffs.  Bands of revelers walking in the middle of the street, almost daring me to run them over.

The best part is the empty streets, which remind me of how it felt to go skiing on a Tuesday and have the slopes to myself. In the middle of this world there are folks I take to and from work. They are the folks who serve in hospitals, hotels, restaurants and gas stations, to mention a few. Just know when you’re sound asleep life goes on After Midnight. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Onward and Upward,

Mark