Five Seconds

Five seconds; not long is it?

In my hotel room, I was watching the Will Smith movie, Legend. There was very little light except for the glow from the laptop screen and just a narrow shaft of light that made it's way across the bed through the partially drawn curtains. The air conditioner was set low and the air was crisp. Condensation had formed droplets of water on the outside of the single large pane causing an eery distortion that prevented clear vision through the haze and I could see no defined objects, buildings or trees.

With the light green glow of a street light filtering through the window, in that short moment, probably five seconds, I struggled mentally just to remember where I was. Where was I? Hawaii? Minnesota? California,? Winter? Summer? No, St Augustine, Florida in mid August, but for five very long seconds I was disoriented and had no clue. Five seconds to decide if I was in familiar surroundings; five seconds to determine if I was safe, well, in a welcomed place or even what planet I was on.

Five seconds is a long time.