Our Connection to Nature

Recently a new lamp post was added outside our mostly commercial building. We live in an apartment on the 2nd floor. This lamp post stands 20 feet above the ground and comes up above the roofline, consequently shining, not only our bathroom, but also the bedroom. Across the street and all around our building are lights which shine all night…the new one is like a spotlight. The county put it in ostensibly to link the commercial apartment venture across the street with our historic buildings which date from late 1800's. There are two other lamp posts that are the same on our side of the road, but this one is at least 4 feet higher. The county owns the parking places and so that’s where they put it. Two others have been felled by cars and trucks. I had high hopes that the county had decided this was a no win situation. No luck.

I watch the phases of the moon outside my bedroom window. And I occasionally can see the stars. Now I can barely see the sky. I have not slept for more than 6 hours since it was put in. I already had insomnia but this has put me over the edge. It is documented that to have good health we need the night to be dark — I take melatonin but it doesn’t work if I take it every night. My curtains are beige linen. In order to sleep I will have to buy black-out curtains for my bedroom and the bathroom. I get up several times in the night and going into the bathroom is now like entering a…