Dimly Lit Wedgwood, Well Sort Of...

Running was especially painful this morning. I could chalk it up to many things; it had been a few days since the last time I made my way around the neighborhood, that because of the ice on the roads my feet were constantly slipping and I needed to take smaller steps, or perhaps it was the fact that I got new inserts for my shoes. Regardless, from a physical perspective, it wasn't the most enjoyable.

However, there were a couple of interesting observations that I made while I was out and about...

First of all, at 7am this time of year it was pretty much dark out. I couldn't actually believe that I of all people was up and moving, let alone running at this hour. When I started to run towards the east, I could see the sky lightening, and the hues of dark blue, indigo and almost pink above the Cascades was absolutely amazing. I just wish that I could have been at a higher elevation to really enjoy the panoramic view.

There aren't a ton of people wandering about Wedgwood at this time of day, but the few that I did run into were quite friendly. A couple folks simply said "hi" or "good morning" and went about their business, while a cyclist I passed actually struck up a bit of conversation. It was nothing much, but it was odd, because he almost made me feel like a part of a community of sorts - like I had been an active runner for quite some time. Definitely a nice feeling.

The last thing is more of a general annoyance than anything. Over the two or so miles that I travelled, I would say that that probably 15-20 houses still had their Christmas lights on. Not that they were still hung on their houses, but they were actually turned on, and I'm guessing that these people hadn't gotten up in the morning, and rushed out to turn them on. No, they were left on overnight, for who to enjoy, I'm not certain. For some reason it really irritated me..I'll give a few the benefit of the doubt, many of them may have not been turned off the night before because someone honestly forgot. But I'm going to guess that most were a result of laziness. Tree-hugging I'm not, but any opportunity that I have to save resources, I really try to make an honest effort. And this was one of those times, where I feel that people could make a difference, small as it may be, if they just remembered to unplug the glory that is their holiday flare at the end of the night...