Night Owls

Waking up in what seemed like the middle of the night because of the darkness, there was the sound of an owl. It was actually 5:00 in the morning and was more of a settling into bed because of a lifetime spent working the night shift. The call came from the direction of the barn behind the house.

It had been a couple of years since hearing the familiar sound of an owl at night. There was something more urgent this time from the tone and loudness than from calls previously heard.

The grove of trees on the land behind the barn had recently been cut down. Trains running along that stretch were much louder now, also.

A late life new career as a songwriter was taking up almost every minute of time since officially retiring from varying jobs on the night shift.

For the first time, a schedule was made to keep up with all the things involved with learning a new skill set. There were lessons of all kinds from learning software programs, music theory, piano practice, voice lessons, song recording, mixing and mastering classes.

An email that morning from a company that hadn’t sent any emails in a while, was promoting a latest writing challenge. A couple of stories had been submitted previously. The subject of the newest challenge was to write about a barn owl.

It was tempting to write about the owl, who hours before had woken a tired sleep.

Two years earlier, The Night Owl Sessions, was the name given to the video podcast promoting some newly written songs. Ironically, it was about this time the owl was last heard.

Finding quieter jobs in the night or day time was a way to keep required human interaction to a minimum. Most any job held at night has elements of danger because of what can come out of the dark.

Working at a public library as a day job while working the night shift for many years, added more humor to any prospect of projecting an image of having wisdom. It was explained in small conversation, not long after starting to work there, it isn’t that librarians know everything, they just know where to find answers.

A job patrolling the darkness of night as a security person is one of the jobs held as well. What fears occur in anyone’s life that this seems a safer place than most?

There are fearful dreams in most people’s lives at some time or another while sleeping in darkness.

The kind of dream that is ongoing in our conscious minds, offers us hope for reaching our best. We hold them as the dreams without darkness.

A stage name was chosen 30 years earlier in anticipation of a music career. Athena with an h at the end, was an attempt to distinguish from all the other Athena’s.

The owl is associated with revealing truths of the world to the Greek goddess, Athena. Owls are nocturnal like musicians who have traditionally had to work mostly at night to earn a living.

What is important becomes increasingly clear with time. Evolutions are a progression in what falls away and expanding ideas that focus on better lives for all. Learning from other’s stories helps us make more informed decisions how we fit into the world around us.

Sadly, some of the most interesting and unbelievable stories from our lives, will never be heard or remembered. Everyone has those stories to tell.

Did the owls long awaited reappearance in the early morning, signal changes to come? Maybe it was just coincidence or a sign of more approaching light.