river bend sunrise

Monday morning, I met with my boss in Cincinnati. He lives in Lexington, KY and I live in Springfield, OH. Cincinnati is half way between us and provides the opportunity for us to meet without driving all day.

We planned to meet at 9:30 but I woke up at my normal time around 5:00AM and decided to just get up and go see the sunrise from Eden Park on Mt. Adams.

When I arrived, there were already two other photographers sitting on benches huddling, in the cold, behind their tripods. We all acknowledged each other and then returned to silence. Dawn is not an occasion to speak, it is a time to sit in wonder and awe. Talking and chatting can come later.

I arrived in time to experience the last of the twilight before the sun peaked it's orange face above the horizon. While I was there, I watched a river barge silently navigate around the bend. I'll bet that it was loaded with coal and headed for one of the power plants down river. I wondered if they experienced the dawn every day and did they really see it or was it just another morning to them?

Every weekday morning, I drive east into Columbus for work. Along the way, I make a point of anticipating and watching the sunrise in front of me. Every morning I think of how lucky that I have a great job and that it allows me to witness the spectacle that is dawn.