Late

by Patrick Sills

Created on: August 08, 2011

I have been a nocturnal night owl since I was in my early teens some 40 or so years ago. As you read this, you may wonder how this would be possible. After all, I was a kid going to school just like everyone else. Yet things were a bit different at my high school in the early 1970s. Instead of having classes at what one would call "normal" operating hours, my school gave students a choice of either an early or late shift. We had no lunch, but attended school from either 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM or 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM. While many opted for the early shift, I intentionally chose the later session. Since this was not as popular, it was virtually guaranteed you would get the late shift if you chose it. As expected, I got my wish.

As hinted, most people chose the early schedule. Their reasoning, of course, was that their school day would be over at noon and they would thus have the rest of the day, albeit homework, to spend at their leisure. But as I saw things, there was a catch, and a rather significant one at that: This meant you'd have to go to bed around 9:00 PM and get up about 5:30 AM! With the later shift, I could stay up until 1:00 or 2:00 AM if I wished and still have plenty of time for adequate sleep before having to report to school.

The previous two years in middle school (referred to as junior high in those days) were miserable for me. That first class started at 8:00 AM, which meant I had to get up around 6:30. Although I was only about 12 years old, this also happened to be the time when cable TV became widely available, and I became addicted to watching the 10:00 news, Johnny Carson and then reruns of shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. I wasn't the best at doing homework, but I really enjoyed digesting all of those TV shows and movies into the post-midnight hours. I also liked to read books, and so TV and reading became the two preferred forms of media that shaped my education and knowledge far more than school ever possibly could.

As it was, I spent every weekend and summertime staying up as late as possible from the time I was 12 or 13, anyway. Having very liberal parents helped, too! This would prove to be invaluable to me a decade later when I played in rock bands in bars until 2:00 or 3:00 AM and then went out to breakfast and/or partied until well after sunrise. What can I say? I was young and enjoyed the night life!

As we fast-forward to 2011 and my upcoming 52nd birthday, I still remain a confirmed night owl. The partying days are long gone, as are the rock bands. If you as a reader grew up in the 1970s as I did and agree with my assessment of how far superior the rock music was then compared to the garbage that's out now, perhaps you'll understand why I gave up playing. Nevertheless, this still hasn't stifled a decades-long commitment to a rather simple, freelance style of life. As a result, I've been writing since I was in my mid-40s.

I am simply not a morning person. I don't do suits and ties, nor does climbing any corporate ladder to a six-figure income interest me. I currently hold a driving job with ideal hours to suit my creative persona. I finish my shift around 4:00 AM and sleep from about 7:00 in the morning until around 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon. My mind is at its clearest between 10:00 PM and about 6:00 AM, and my occupation as a Union driver for a newspaper allows ample time to ponder what I'll write next.

To be fair, one could probably lead a similar lifestyle with those AMs and PMs reversed. However, as a person that has more or less kept nocturnal hours since Richard Nixon's presidency, staying up late simply serves me better.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Sills.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.