rancherwriterpoet

Let Him Sleep

Well, I have hit that period I expected when I started this blog. The muse is still asleep this morning. I am attempting to awaken the fool, but he seems intent on remaining in an absence of consciousness. He first experienced the inactivity of the brain last evening. It seems to have stayed with him throughout the night. Unless something changes rather quickly, it could be a factor in the daily grind of “Rancherwriterpoet.” Wake up, muse!

When I was a child, I used to think that sleep was a waste of time. It was much more important to stay outside and play. This may come as a shock to many, however back in my childhood; there were no television sets and kids actually did stay outside and play until dark.

Mothers would stand at their back doors and call for us boys to come in the house. Supper was over, mothers had finished doing the dishes and fathers were busy reading the evening paper (yes, there really were evening papers) and waiting for mothers to solicit their help to “persuade” the youngsters to come in. 

I can promise you, the first call never produced any results. I was probably within earshot; however, it was muted by the clamor of boys who were not ready to come in and get ready for bed. Mind you, my mother was not the only one who demanded an audience with their son.  Rarely, however, did the call from fathers fail to “encourage” us to come in.

Eventually, we would come home and accept the finality of darkness. Mothers would threaten and we would say we were sorry and all would be forgiven. That is, until the next night when the excitement started all over again. It was the same scenario all over the neighborhood. For most, bedtime came much too soon.

Not having any sisters, I cannot speak for the female gender. I do seem to recall some of my friends who had sisters. They, obviously, were never included in any of our games. Sorry about that, I only speak the truth.

It is funny how the mind works. Now, I can’t wait until bedtime. It also comes not a minute too soon. Upon falling into bed, my body feels this very comfortable and restful place. I can only hope that my mind drifts quickly into that state of slumber. I know the muse does.

I notice that during sleep I sometimes dream. I wonder about dreams. Rarely do I have any exciting reams. Mine are generally of a more humdrum nature.

Some have very extraordinary dreams. Like visiting the Taj Mahal, skydiving, taking a road trip to the Grand Canyon, winning Dancing with the Stars, cruising around the world to some exotic far away place and so forth.

Me? I dream about what color we need to paint the bathroom, or fertilizing the front yard, trying to figure out how to get rid of those annoying moles and gophers or the dogs barking at night. Well, dogs barking? That wasn’t a dream, it really happened.

Sometimes, my dreams do take me on a road trip. To the doctor’s office, to get the oil changed in the car, to Walmart. Oh well, Dancing with the Stars would have totally worn me out. The knees, you know.

That’s another thing, worn out. In this day and age, it is possible to replace most any part of the body. Artificial knees, hips, transplants, cataract surgery, and I could go on. Do you remember the Six Million Dollar Man? Now don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great thing that medical technology has given us all these options. I am fortunate that my knees still work, at least, most of the time.

When I was a child, sleep was a waste of time. But, today, well, that’s the good thing about sleep. It relieves the stress and exhaustion of trying to accomplish all those things we could do back when we thought sleep was a waste of time.

Maybe, I can dream about an exotic far way place. One thing for sure, I don’t want to dream about how I’m going to pay for those artificial hips and knees. That would be a nightmare.  Six Million Dollar Man? That was a bargain.

On second thought, let the muse keep sleeping. You probably are thinking the same thing.

Have a good day.