I saw that it was 4:55 am; I never let the alarm wake me up. It’s not that I didn’t set it, I did; I just always seemed to wake myself up right before. It’d been that way for years, and had become part of my morning ritual. Like shaving in the shower, or downing a cup and half of coffee on my way out the door (even though I invariably brewed a whole pot).
It was still dark out, with a few glimmers of light, as I left my house at 5:45 am and clambered into my Ford Focus. The days were quite long here this time of year, and I had plans for later, so that was good. For the Yankees were in town, and there was a night game (which would be played mostly in daylight here in Seattle).