Kip Kellogg had trouble sleeping. Kip could never fall asleep. He'd lay there for a spell, just thinking, then Kip would get right up. He'd pull on his pants, find his dirty sneakers, and go wandering into the night. Trying to find that something, that something that would make real sense.

Kip wandered down his own street, and then cut across an alley like he always did. Then after a few more minutes he came to a road that he had never been on before. It was a really long road, and completely dark at one end. Kip thought about it for a second, then decided he should find out what was at the other end. So he started walking, and as he did it got darker and darker. Kip thought about how when he was little, he had been a bit afraid of the dark. Then he started thinking about supernatural things, and evil things, like vampires and werewolves. It wasn't that he actually believed in them, it was just that the surroundings made him remember all the horror movies he had seen. Kip even looked over his shoulder once or twice, just to keep everything honest. But then, at last, Kip came to the end of the road, and in fact there was nothing there. It was just a dead end, with a bunch of grass and weeds and trash. Kip laughed to himself, and felt a little silly. People shouldn't be afraid of the dark. It'll never do you any harm.

Kip walked back up the road and made his way into the heart of the city. He saw a bunch of people walking in and out of a liquor store, holding handfuls of lottery tickets. Apparently the jackpot was really high, and everyone was praying that they'd hit it. Kip thought about the lottery, and wondered if it was a good thing or a bad. On one hand, it was kind of a waste, because the odds of you winning were ridiculous. Something like 88 trillion to one, no matter how many tickets you bought. It seemed to Kip like people were just being suckered in and taken for a ride. But then he thought that maybe it had some good points, too. He remembered how he had once read that a lottery had been used to make money for the American Revolutionary War. Since the government couldn't tax people, they used lotteries instead. Also, even though it was a long shot, people could still actually win. It wasn't impossible, even if it was improbable. Kip also figured that it gave some people hope when they might not have any at all, that by betting only one dollar, they were taking part in something bigger. Then he thought about how if nothing is ever ventured, then nothing is ever gained. So Kip decided it was okay, and left it at that. Hey, why not, he figured. What can you expect for a dollar anyway?

Kip wandered a pretty far way, and finally arrived near the airport. He could hear the planes landing and taking off, and he watched their lights blink red and white in the sky. Kip had never flown before, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He figured it was safer than cars, but it wasn't really the same, either. If something goes wrong with a car, you can at least try the breaks or pull over or something. You can't do that at 40,000 feet. Also, after what happened with the terrorists, it made people think differently. It certainly was the case with Kip. In the past, whenever he had seen a plane in the sky, he would wonder where it was going or who the passengers on it were. But now, whenever Kip saw a plane, his thoughts were completely changed. Now he wondered if it had been hijacked, or if it was headed for a building. Now every time Kip saw a plane, he worried that it might explode. It was a bad way to look at planes, but it was still in the back of Kip's mind. He didn't mean to think it, but he thought it just the same.

Kip walked back through the city, and when he did he noticed all the neon signs that glowed and lit everything up. It seemed almost a miracle to Kip that there was enough electricity to light them all. Then he wondered what a person from the 1640's would think if you brought them through time and showed them those sights. They'd probably faint or scream, or just stare and stare at everything. The noise, too, would be a problem. They'd most likely hate the noise. Living in the city all his life, Kip never seemed to pay any attention to it while he was there. Yet, when he found a quiet place while on his walks, the difference was pretty amazing. That's the funny thing about noise, thought Kip. You only notice it when it's gone.

Kip made his way to some tenements, and sat down on some steps. He gazed up at the fire escapes, and wondered how long ago they had been built. Then he saw these little kids running around, and they weren't wearing any shoes. This was a poor place in the city, and it made Kip sad to see it. He had always wished he was rich, so that he could buy shoes and Christmas presents for everyone, but it had never worked out, since richness with money is hard to come by. Kip gave the kids without shoes a dollar each, and then got up to leave, but as he did, he smelled something good, and looked over at a windowsill. When he did he was stunned to see that there was an apple pie sitting there. It was still blazing hot, and must have been put there to cool. Kip still couldn't believe it. An apple pie cooling on a windowsill. He thought things like that only happened in small Midwest towns, or in the movies or something like that. Kip felt pretty lucky to see that apple pie cooling. In fact, he had even wanted to go buy it off the person who had baked it. Maybe he could frame it, or freeze it, and look at it all the time. Imagine: Here, in the city, was an apple pie cooling on a windowsill. It was just incredible to Kip. He didn't think he'd ever live to see that.

Finally Kip went home, undressed and went to bed. He closed his eyes against his pillow, and tried to sleep like the rest of the world.

But sadly, Kip couldn't sleep. Like always, he was wide awake.

You can contact Vincent Spada at