The Days And Nights Are Long

The dust caught the light as it hung in the musty air, Leo watched as it spun ethereally about the glowing dials of the recording booth. He lost himself in the spinning tapes, the hum of the panels, and the lingering echoes of "Everybody Hurts" as the last chords reverberated through his mind. Leo was having a cathartic moment, and he wanted it to last. He pictured this song soaring through the pre-dawn night, describing the town underneath, and giving hope to anyone who bothered to listen. He had a headache as it were, and he would've given his eyes for the chance to doze off until the next shift started. He thought better of it, though thinking of the trailer-trash Mr. Tresp, his boss. Leo shivered at the thought of dealing with that man; his boss had nothing except rage for Leo. He figured Mr. Tresp himself had nothing, so he took it out on his late-night radio DJ.

Earlier that morning, Leo was walking out of his apartment and noticed that that the zero in "room 1011" had fallen off and disappeared. He took a moment to search for it. A moment that he couldn't spare. He missed his usual bus and ended up running the next stop, but not before he was momentarily distracted by the haunting meanderings of Michael Stipe pouring out of a battered boom box, sitting in the lap of a homeless blind man. Leo only stood long enough to hear the song, and examine the poor man's situation. Bolting at the sound of the bus stopping a block ahead.

The song had latched itself to some dark center of his brain, he mused on the idea of a blind man telling the world of more fortunate people to "hold on" and smiled to himself. Leo respected the blind man's valiant motives, and thought he'd do him a favor and launch his song to a bigger audience, via the trusted bandwidth of 100.4 WTF.FM.

- - -

The song faded out and Leo brought up the microphone, then leaned in, saying "Okay everyone, that was R.E.M's 'Everybody Hurts' that goes out to a..." he paused, thinking of a way to describe the blind man. "A man who really knows whats goin' on. Up next we got some Pearl Jam. I'm Leon Van Damme, and as always... keep it tuned into 100.4."