ASPECT: THE NIGHT LIFE, IT AIN’T NO GOOD LIFE

They say things go bump in the night. It is certainly true here in Sacramento.

Whether folks are bumping and grinding to the hot tunes, doing a more intimate bumping someplace private, or thumping on each other in gang violence, you can bet it is going on after the sun goes down.

Where the politicians work diligently to make our laws during business hours, it is the after-hours schmoozing that appeals. From the after dinner martini to the cheap beer on tap, the party just keeps getting better. The socialites don their finest for a night on the town, be it the opera, ballet or theatre, clubbing in short skirts and high heels, or pulling off the leather jacket and playing a few rounds of pool with the gang – Sacramento is at its best at night.

It follows then that Sacramento is much more interesting at night than during the day. Boy is it.

It is interesting that local ordinance places a curfew for minors at 10pm, and California law states that establishments cannot sell liquor after 2am. So the night scene in the city pretty much shuts down at 2am. The drunks scuttle back home, or wherever it is they go, and by 3am you can see all the street signals flashing yellow or red. Cars stay off the road and the normal people are fast asleep. How boring. If that is not bad enough, there are only a handful of 24 hour diners and other such venues in town. The bowling alley counts, doesn’t it?

It is curious that a city with such a vibrant night-life cuts its party short. There is a reason for it. Night time is also when the supernaturals hit the streets. Be it a group of Black Court vamps with their ghoul thralls looking for a quick bite, or the local weres ganging around town, there is always something wandering the streets at night, and for the mortals, they mean trouble.

These supernatural menaces were a significant factor, conscious or not, for the passage of the restricting liquor laws and night-time curfews. Those in the know, or perhaps influenced by them, wrote the laws to protect the citizens of Sacramento.

So next time you decide to go party with the group, be careful not to party too hardy. Don’t drink and drive, for your alcohol-laden blood will be extra potent to the vampires, and they don’t care if they drink it before or shortly after you conveniently wrap your car around a telephone pole. You’ll be dead all the same when the EMTs find you.

FACES