At one time, midnight was known as “the witching hour,” and most businesses closed long before then.
But the world is changing. Most bars stay open until 2:30 a.m, and many stores are open 24 hours a day.
Four unique people work in four of these places — four men with very different jobs, but one thing in common: They are all up late.
When Home Depot began offering home improvement supplies around the clock last April, Matt Thom said he volunteered to work the new all-night shift from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Just don’t ask him why.
“I have my reasons, but I can’t talk about them,” he said.
Thom works 40 hours a week at Home Depot as well as being a full-time student — he is a senior psychology major at the University.
He said many people actually stop by for lumber, hardware and the like in the wee morning hours. Sometimes they come in search of a needed tool after a plumbing or other household emergency. Other customers are regulars who do their shopping late because employees are more readily available to offer assistance at night when there are fewer people in the store.
But Thom admits his work schedule is “just not normal.”
“The sun is going down when I’m driving to work,” he said. “And the sun’s coming up when I’m driving home.”
But there are benefits to the late hours as well, he added.
“I always have my days off,” he said. “So if I have to sacrifice sleep to do what I want, then I do.”
Across town, on most evenings Josh Ford can be found surrounded by whips, chains and Playboy bunnies.
He is a sales associate for Castle Superstore, a 24-hour adult entertainment megastore. And while the hours can be unusual — Ford sometimes works from 6 p.m. until 2 or 3 a.m. — he said it’s still the best job he’s ever had.
“The discount, free rentals …,” he said. “What more do you want?”
Another perk to the job, he said, is the people he meets at work, especially the large groups who come in late at night and are out having a good time.
“I like the people at night because they’re my kind of people — partiers,” he said.
People often come in at night wanting to chat, he said. And frequently they ask what the weirdest thing a customer has ever asked him is.

But that is one question Ford does not answer. Among pornography store clerks and their patrons, there is an unspoken rule similar to doctor-patient confidentiality, he said. Out of respect for his customers, he never reveals personal information.
“You don’t want people airing your dirty laundry,” he said.
He will say, however, that among the store’s most frequently sold items are the magazines Playboy and Playgirl.
And, he added, “Everybody likes Astroglide,” a sexual lubricant.
Someone else who knows about losing sleep for work is Paul Bustrin, who works as a doorman at two bars — Doc’s Pad and the newly opened Club Olympus.
Bustrin, who also produces a local band, said he appreciates the opportunity to network and meet people while he is at work.
“It’s kind of fun,” he said. “You get to see a different side of Eugene.”
Well over 6 feet tall, Bustrin has an imposing presence, but, he said, he is often able to stop fights without force by getting to know his customers and talking them down when tempers flare.
“A lot of dealing with drunk people is prevention,” he said.
And when he’s not working, he’s not likely to be found out on the town.
“If you spend three or five nights a week in a bar, the last place you want to be is in a bar,” he said. “It’s kind of like hanging out with your grandma seven days a week.”
Once the bars close, there’s a pretty good chance some club-goers will see Nick Ryan on their way home.
In the two weeks he’s worked at the 13th and Alder 7-Eleven, he’s seen many people come in for a late-night snack– especially when they’ve been out drinking, he said.
“A lot of drunk people come in to get their munchies before they crash,” he said.
People also come in late at night to buy alcohol, and that can be a problem if they are drunk because by law stores can’t sell alcohol to someone who is visibly intoxicated. And sometimes, he said, people can be violent when he refuses to sell to them.
“There’s tackles thrown, a few punches,” he said. “We have to regulate.”
Ryan, who will be a junior at the University next year, said the best part of his job is getting to talk to people who come in while he’s at work, most of whom are college students as well.
But he said he’d rather not work the graveyard shift.
“The worst part of the job is that I miss the chance to party with my friends,” he said. “But usually when I get off work, my friends are still partying, so it’s not a total loss.”
And based on his experience in the store, Ryan has a few words of advice for future 7-Eleven patrons.
“Strawberry-banana Slurpees are the best,” he said.