The Edge of Darkness

We installed a security video camera recently to catch a thief, we hope. It watches an area beneath a street lamp that lights up most of three of our four vehicles. I know, we have too many vehicles, but that’s another story. The thief we hope to catch is one who travels in the darkness of night checking for unlocked vehicles and, we think, unlocked doors to our homes. I know he does that. He stole my tools from my pickup tool box when I forgot to lock it. Oh, okay, it was my fault… I forgot to lock it. Still, I can’t help feeling that I’d like to catch, and strangle, the thief.

So, we watch for him. The system I installed records any motion within view of the camera on my computer. It also allows me to access the camera from other computers from anywhere on the Internet so I can watch real-time, and that’s how I discovered the edge of darkness. It was really spooky.

Today, in the early hours of 4:00 A.M. (I get up early), a movement caught my eye while I was watching the video on my laptop, so I focused on the video. Something was moving next to, and I imagined to be looking into, my stepson’s car; just at the edge where the street lamp's light stopped and darkness began. Ah Ha! Maybe we got him. I went to the front window to get a closer look from the darkness of the front room… where I wouldn’t be seen. Nothing. That’ odd. I returned to my laptop expecting to see that the movement was gone, but there was still movement; sort of like waves of shadow on a shore of light washing up from the edge of darkness.

Whew! Spooky! There are no trees that might cast wind driven shadows. There is nothing that would explain the phenomena. Ghosts? It must be the Dark Side undulating. Dick Cheney. Geez. Is he everywhere? I've got to install better lighting out there.