Black as Night

What is it with people that causes them to dress all in black before they set out to cross a busy, poorly illuminated, four lane city street when it is pitch black outside? Do they think they are Ninjas? Or maybe Charles Bronson?

1946 - Caterpillar Diesel D7 tractor with loading attachment loading debris for a project pulling up street car rails on Market Street in San Francisco, California. The 660 volt trolley wires overhead mean extra care must be taken in handling rails. This tractor is obviously a hazard to navigation, but at least it is being dangerous in full daylight, where you can see what is going on.

     Driving to the train station early one morning a couple of months ago I noticed a big black blob in the middle of the road. Early morning, poor visibility, I couldn't tell what it was. There was something up ahead in the middle of the road. I slowed way down and eventually I could see that it was a medium-small track hoe crawling across the street. It had one work light shining and it may have been painted orange, but the only clue I had to its being there was that it was blocking the light from the businesses father down the street.
   Since then it seems that most every day on my early morning, five mile urban jaunt, I see at least one person  that is walking along the street, or crossing in the middle of the block, dressed all in dark clothes. I want a paint ball gun that shoots balls of fluorescent dye so I can tag these morons.
   This morning (7:30AM) I am on the return leg of my trip, sitting at a stop light, and I notice the sky is gray, not black. That's weird. It's been totally black for the last two months. How could it be gray? Winter solstice hasn't gotten here yet, the days are not getting longer. Could it be that we have been blanketed with clouds for the last two months, clouds so thick no sunlight could get through them?