Watching the Sun Come Up

This post is in response to the Post Daily Blog:  Because the Night, that concerns whether one is a night person or a morning person.

I’ve always been an early riser, and now that I’m a senior (73) I get up earlier than ever.  If one wants to rise early, I think it helps to have a reason to do so.

At 5:00 a.m., there are already the same homeless cats every morning waiting for me outside for me to bring them their breakfast.  About an hour later, the squirrels and birds come out waiting for their grains too.

I live in a senior apartment house that doesn’t allow the feeding of stray animals, and I’ve gotten in trouble for it, even been threatened with eviction.  I’ve fought back.  I still feed the animals, but I try to do it very discreetly.  If I put the food out early,  and the food is gone before everyone else has risen, it’s less detectable.  That’s another reason I get up so early.  But even if I didn’t do this, I would still get up early.  I just feel that if I sleep late, I’ve shot my chances for having a productive day.

Two or 3 times a week, a little later in the day,  I go to the gym at the YMCA on Broadway in Staten Island and work out for about an hour.  I’ve been doing this since I was 65.  Although I’m still strong, I’ve noticed that every year, I feel a little more tired afterwards.  I used to go into Manhattan and walk all over the city, but I can’t do that any longer without exhausting myself.  Later in the day, I’m not good for much activity.   I think being a morning person is more popular among seniors than being a night person.

However, I guess many night people also get a lot accomplished. I read once that the economist Maynard Keynes couldn’t get up in the mornings until his father, I think it was, came and pulled him out of bed.  I find that horrible, but I’m a great admirer of Keynes.