When the caffeine high wears off...

... it leaves you both exhausted and raw.

Another exciting night at the T lounge, an interesting social experiment both surreal and surprisingly comfortable.

The only place in Pittsburgh, as far as I know, that offers the fantastic Bare-oké.

While crooners pour out their hearts and souls singing sounds of the decades, topless dancers entertain with arial feats reminiscent of Circué performers; An interesting, cathartic night of uninhibited expression and friendly conversation.

As I get ready for bed, mind reeling from the caffeine overload I take a moment to consider life.

"Life in slow motion, somehow it don't feel real." - David Gray

Overly exhausted and expectedly emotional, I've decided how I might like to spend my last moments:

Late autumn afternoon, sun setting in the western sky, a group of friends are sitting on the back porch of a small country house.

In the not so distant landscape, cornstalks blow weakly in the slight wind; Clouds color the sky, a mixture of blue purple and orange.

The members of the group laugh candidly and contagiously as they share stories of days long past.

Warm hot chocolate fills their cups; love, longing and memories fill their souls.

The boisterous leader, prods and pokes. His banter and vitriolic candor was long ago accepted; a means of navigating difficult emotional terrain.

With a quiet understanding, he looks deeply into his cup of cocoa.

A lifetime of memories revealed in its swirls, a slight smile forms on his lips and behind his dark brown eyes.

As the sun lowers, solemn quietness overtakes the group. After many sunsets and countless mornings, nothing's left unsaid— no harbored ill will.

"It's been quite a ride," he says, with a painfully pretended southern drawl.

As the quiet laughter fills the air, he leans back in his wooden chair. He closes his eyes and listens, someone says for the millionth time, 'that night when.'

Slowly, the gray haze fades into a dark comfortable emptiness.

While that group sits quietly on the back porch of that small country home, twilight becomes night. A familiar feeling of loss is replaced with something more incomprehensible.

Each member rises slowly and as they leave the back porch, breathing in the cool autumn air, they silently say their goodbyes.

"Yes, yes indeed, it has been quite a ride."

Oh baby, baby it's a wild world, I'll always remember you like a child girl. - Cat Stevens