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When you’re all alone, it’s always 4 AM. At 4 AM, the world is in reverie. The midnight oil has been burned to fumes, and the early-morning joggers and dog-walkers have yet to start their habitual rounds. 3 AM is boldly and edgily late; 5 AM is a time of industry and health; in the gap that divides the two, we reach a precious hour of in-between.
Anyone on the streets is there for a special reason. A wobbly-kneed undergrad dribbles out of their Uber after a night of debauchery. A bleary-eyed doctor straps her slumbering sons into her sleek sedan, hoping to beat the traffic as they head to the coast. A pair of red-eyed paramours, frustrated and forlorn, loses themselves in redolent reminiscence as they pace their separate streets. All alone, all at 4 AM. Yet the wee hours of the night also rejuvenate the soul. The poet Rives: “For most people, it’s a foreign land, so it feels special the way that Paris feels special – you only go every once in a while.” 4 AM, as a bridge between too-late and too-early, possesses an elixir-like quality of rebirth. Though dangerous if drunk too often or too deeply, the occasional draught of 4 AM offers a view into an alien world*. * At least, it’s alien to me. I keep old man hours – in bed by 9:30, 10 at the latest. My roommate starts cooking his dinner and I’m in my PJs trying to ignore the smell of stir-fry. At this juncture, the heart of this short expatiation, the author inserts himself, he has recently bucked his usual curfew, seduced by a time-honored tradition he never before enjoyed – the midnight movie. The venue: The Davis Theatre The bait: Mad Max: Fury Road (Black & Chrome Edition); The Goonies; Creepshow The Coke that warms too quick tastes crisper. The popcorn, never fresh, is imbued with renewed crunch. The audience sinks into their seats, lovers and loners alike. The lights dim, the credits roll, and we share the experience in silence (and sometimes not so silence). The statement “I was up at four in the morning” invokes twinges of sympathy – few who are awake at that hour wish to be and companionship is a rare luxury. Perhaps that’s why midnight movies feel so special – they can provide solitude and community hand-in-hand. For a moment, it’s 4 AM and we’re not alone.
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