Stayin’ Safe: The Shadow Knows

Beyond the black truck is an emerging shadow forewarning of a hidden threat.
Beyond the black truck is an emerging shadow forewarning of a hidden threat.

Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of Main Street? The shadow knows!

There are vehicles that seemly lie in wait, hiding between overgrown shrubs at the entrance to an obscured driveway poised to jump out at us. Workers, eclipsed by a dump truck parked along the shoulder, step out of nowhere. A car driver turning right on red pokes out unexpectedly from the far side of a larger vehicle.  It can be nearly impossible to spot them—or for them to spot us—until they emerge into our path of travel. But, in morning or late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky we might just have an edge. That’s when the appearance of those threats is, quite literally, foreshadowed. The low light angle means that hidden threats are often preceded by a long shadow that is cast ahead into view. But it’s easy to overlook those hints if we’re not actively looking for them. By raising our awareness of the time of day and actively looking for these advanced warning signs, we can often eliminate the element of surprise and keep ourselves out of trouble.

Beyond the black truck is an emerging shadow forewarning of a hidden threat.
Beyond the black truck is an emerging shadow forewarning of a hidden threat.

At each end of the day, there tends to be predictable activity. That’s when people are heading to and from the office, municipal workers are starting or ending their workday out on the streets and folks are getting on and off of busses. Think through scenarios you might expect for that time of day and then look for the shadowy clues. See that stopped garbage truck at the edge of the residential street in early morning? Then you’ll know to look beyond it for the moving shadow of a homeowner backing blindly out of his driveway. Who knows what evil lurks just out of view? You might if you don’t ignore the all-knowing, all-telling shadow.

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Beyond the black truck is an emerging shadow forewarning of a hidden threat.
Beyond the black truck is an emerging shadow forewarning of a hidden threat.

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