Another good thing ends

Last night, as usual, I went for my one-hour walk at the local track where I live. As I came closer to the basketball building, the first thing I noticed was this huge shining light hanging on the front of it. (Trust me, it was hard to miss!) The whole place was illuminated like it was daylight. Even the houses across the street didn't escape its bright light. I'd bet those poor people would be totally pissed. As I kept musing about this and moving toward the other street to get to the track entrance, I noticed the back of the building was brightly lit too. Suddenly, like Han Solo, I had a bad feeling about it. (Which became my worst nightmare.) As I approached the side street that led to the track, I saw another of those big lights hung on the back of the building, lighting up the whole track. Shit. Gone was the soft glow of the previous two light fixtures that had been my soothing companions. To say that I was angry about it...weeeell...it was an understatement. But I tried - I really tried - to give it a chance and enjoy my time alone as I always did. You know, keep a positive attitude; make lemonade when life gives you lemons. But honestly, there's a limit to how much I can compromise. First, it was almost impossible to walk at all. The damn light was hung too low so it blinded me. All I saw was colored spots dancing before me, so I had to walk with my head down looking at my sneakers to avoid the psychedelic trip. And like I said before, the peaceful atmosphere I always found under the gentle glow of the previous lights was gone. If anything I felt the stress cranking up a notch or two. Before I could look up at the sky and see the stars shining like diamonds on a black velvet blanket. On full-moon nights I would stop at the far end of the track, where it was darkest, and watch it rise over the trees. Totally breathtaking. I'd feel the stress melting away. However, tonight I could hardly see the sky at all. I think even the nightly critters were ticked off about the new light fixture too because it didn't barely heard them. To make this short, I didn't do my one-hour walk. I tried, but I couldn't finish it. Thirty minutes into it (see that I tried to make it work?) and I couldn't take it the whole damn thing anymore so I quit and went home. What's the use of going to the track if I can't relax? A lot of bozos think I was doing it for my health, and that was the farthest thing in my mind. Sure, walking for an hour daily was good for my body and physical health and all that jazz. But that wasn't the reason I started my evening walks. I did it to relax, to get away from people and be alone - me and my thoughts, to enjoy the beauty of the evening time and the sounds of the critters. Will I ever be able to see another full moon shine in the dark sky surrounded by little stars? Will I ever enjoy another wonderful show of fireflies dancing among the plants? I'm not holding my breath. *sighs* So after almost a year and a half, my nightly walks have come to an end tonight.