It's slowly raining outside. Not nearly enough to be good sleeping rain, but it's there, spattering and popping. Good sleeping rain is heavier with boom and rubble thunder but not cracking thunder. It's been a long time since there's been good sleeping rain here.

Down the street Henry's gas station is open. I couldn't tell you the name of it. That changes every month. But for more than 20 years, it's been owned by a guy named Henry Morgan. Henry isn't liked in Dora. Many years ago, one of his employees shot a cop, and Henry paid for his lawyer. I'm sure there are more reasons, but that's all I know.

It's weird. The day of the shooting is one of my most vivid memories. I remember the night before on an episode of Miami Vice, somebody had put a horse's head in somebody's bed. Yeah, I know that's from the Godfather, but they did it on Miami Vice as well. And I was only a kid. I had nightmares about it. And the next day after I'd taken a bath, I looked out the window and saw a horse's head on the side of the road. I kept telling my mom about it, and she kept telling me to stop with the nonsense. Finally after enraging her, she got up and looked. She then panicked a bit and called the police. It wasn't a horse's head. It was one of Dora's police officers. He's been shot and lay on the side of the road bleeding to death.

He didn't die. And he did return to being a police officer. His name was Steve, and he was shot with his own gun. The guy who shot him worked for Henry Morgan and so on and so forth. He did not get off and went to the big house. Still, the damage was done for poor Henry.

It's strange to see Henry's gas station open now. For the last few months, it's been closing early. For awhile, it was an all night place. It is the only thing open in Dora right now. The only thing. Thanks to the Wal-mart up the highway, now even our Food World closes at night.

There really should be a town where there's nothing but night people. Day people have no consideration for night people. Most daywalkers think there's something wrong with night people. So, there should be towns and small cities that can function at night. Stores would be open, not just food and gas stations, but shoe shops and hot dog stands. And there'd be a city park with fountains and schools both elementary and high school. Buses. Trains. Garbage men every Tuesday night.

Could you imagine ending your day with a sunrise? Most sunsets to me are muggy, too bruised. A sunrise is crisp and sharp, a nice thing to see before sleep.

The rain is picking up here. Maybe it is sleeping rain. Maybe it is.

  ¶ 4:18 AM