Like everyone, I’ve seen sunrises and sunsets before, but I can’t say that I’ve ever made a conscious effort to watch them on the same day. Before daylight on Saturday, I got called in to work on the ambulance in Monroeville and around 6:30 a.m., I found myself driving south on State Highway 21, headed toward Pensacola in an ambulance. Most of that route took me along vast stretches of low fields planted in cotton and peanuts, which afforded me a good view of the sunrise as I headed south.
Around a quarter to seven, about the time I crossed into Escambia County, the first red rays of dawn began to inch over the horizon, and I began to make out where the sun was going to make its appearance. About the time I had to slow down to pass Fountain Prison, about 6:56 a.m., the top of the sun peaked over the horizon. The sunrise had officially begun. Ten minutes later or so, about the time I got into the outskirts of Atmore, the sun was completely over the horizon, which was on my left as I traveled south.
About 11 hours and 20 minutes later, at 6:14 p.m., I found myself standing on my backdoor step, watching the sun go down over my back yard. It was somewhat cloudy, which made the sunset one of those classic fall events that is hard to forget. Despite the clouds, I had no problem viewing the sun’s last rays as it dipped behind the trees on the other side of my neighbor’s yard.
For whatever reason, watching the sun rise and set reminded me of the movie “Interview with the Vampire.” Some of you will remember the scene in which Brad Pitt’s character talked about watching his last sunrise before completely becoming a vampire. Pitt’s character, Louis de Pointe du Lac, said, “That morning I was not yet a vampire, and I saw my last sunrise. I remember it completely, and yet I can't recall any before it. I watched the whole magnificence of the dawn for the last time as if it were the first. And then I said farewell to sunlight, and set out to become what I became.”
Watching the sunrise also reminded me of the scene in “The Thin Red Line” in which Nick Nolte’s character mentioned the “Eos rhododaktylos,” that is, the “rosy-fingered dawn” mentioned in the opening line of Homer’s “The Odyssey.” Just before the battle begins, Nolte’s character tells another officer nearby that students at West Point had to read Homer… in Greek. It’s kind of an eerie moment in one of my favorite movies.
Before I wrap this thing up, I have to admit that I got the idea for this bucket list item when I saw it on another person’s bucket list that they’d posted it on the Internet. I thought it was a cool idea, and I had one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” moments. It seemed kind of cool and very doable.
In the end, I enjoyed scratching another item off my bucket list. How many of you out there have ever made a conscious effort to watch a sunrise and a sunset on the same day? When did you do it? Where were you and what do you remember about it? Let us know in the comments section below.
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