Why do I like being up late? Art.
I’ve always been an outspoken advocate of seeing the night through. You hang out, you eat, maybe get a head start on the hangover, and you talk about it. The ideas are fresh. The stories may be blurry, but they’re more focused than they will be the next day.You’re probably tired, but part of showing solidarity with your friends is getting through it, getting over yourself and contributing.
Besides, every good night needs a recap, or a reset, or at least some kind of analysis to ensure that subsequent nights are more successful, whatever that may entail. You get your cup of coffee, maybe some eggs and bacon, and you get to it.
We’re seen having that discussion in a window off of Geary or Mission or Market at an ungodly hour and that makes us “Nighthawks,” indeed, just like the Edward Hopper painting. Though idealized, I’d always envisioned, and experienced, that scene as a great way to end the night. No matter how the evening went prior to the scene, you’re with your friends having a meal or a brew and life is good and simple.
Maybe it started with my fascination with 1940s America (the painting was released in 1942), the very definition of simple. Axis & Allies, life in analog (the TV hadn’t caught on yet), cars with fins and people wearing hats & ties. A bygone era, to be superseded by the information & drama overload of the present day.
So on those nights spent out with friends, or when I’m just having a long night either working on a project or trying to get into a book, I’m trying to boil it down. Trying to relax and process what went on in the daylight hours. Trying to escape days and nights and weekends spent controlling crowds and managing expectations. Maybe trying to do so with some style.
And I really don’t care what time it is.
