Strange Places Strange Faces

"The only time time is long is when I am trying to sleep."

So sayeth my friend, the building superintendent where I live. He just turned 70 this year and I was asking him about time. My thought is the older we get, the closer we get in age to our older relatives and friends. For example, my oldest first cousin has twelve years on me, but it feels closer to five now when it felt like decades when I was younger. To what do I owe this thought? I am not really sure. Another perfect example is 9/11. 9/11 feels like yesterday because it is so permanently etched in my fabric. It's hard to believe we're coming up on its fifth anniversary. So, I considered my friend's profound quote. I thought about my odd sleeping patterns and the relevancy of his wisdom to my very own life. Some nights I manage to get only a few hours sleep. I have a million things on my mind. I don't know what to do with myself. I am utterly restless. Other nights, I can catch eight hours or more... But, it doesn't seem to matter. My friend, in fact, is right. Our days -- as evidenced by my revelations about 9/11 and my cousin -- go by in a flash. It's only when I sleep that things slow down. It's only when I sleep that I can enjoy (perhaps on a superficial level) the passing of time. During my awaking hours, time flies. They used to say, "Time flies when you're having fun." I'm not sure about that one, but I am sure that time flies. Maybe now is the time we have to consider how precious our hourglasses are, and the fact that we can make as much out of time while we are awake as when we sleep.