Thursday, March 3, 2016

Windy-Whirly


I had a very peculiar night. I woke up about 3 a.m. and the wind was roaring outside -- really blowing hard. I got up and watched the trees sway, wondering whether anything outside needed to be rescued or battened down. I couldn't think of anything so I went back to bed, and the atmospheric conditions seemed to represent what then went on in my head -- my own thoughts swirling and swirling.

I was unsettled partly because I had a frustrating day at work yesterday, for no very significant reason. I was also thinking about our vacation plans this summer -- Dave and I had a vague idea that we might go to South America (an early celebration for my 50th birthday in November). But the Olympics are in Rio this summer, and besides I can't quite bring myself to pull it together planning-wise, so I'm beginning to think it would make sense to put that off until next year. Maybe we'll just go to Scandinavia or somewhere closer. Maybe Cornwall. With Olga.

I also may have been unsettled because right before bed I almost finished Sally Mann's book, and she wrote about photographing a place in Tennessee known as the "body farm" -- where dead bodies are basically laid out in the open, in a forested area, for all of nature to feast upon. Her pictures were certainly vivid. In a way, it sounds like a reasonable way to go -- back to nature, back to the trees and critters. I mean, why not? Why be in a hermetically sealed box? Why burn up thousands of BTUs of energy in a cremation? I'd like to provide fuel for all the living things on the planet, rather than take it away.

Maybe I'll leave myself to the body farm. But hopefully not anytime soon.

I finally fell asleep about 4:30, Olga and Dave both snoring beside me, and slept a few more hours. So all in all I got a pretty good night's sleep, brief windy-whirly period notwithstanding.

(Photo: A newsstand off Oxford Street, mid-February.)

9 comments:

alphabet soup said...

I'm not averse to a green burial; wrapped in newspaper would be appropriate, given I am an avid reader of newspapers.

I'm voting for Cornwall with Olga. She is as entitled to a holiday just as much as her owners...

The other two destinations of choice also meet with my approval. As if that matters, lol.

Ms Soup

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Waking in the middle of the night, our minds can wander into places they hardly ever go in the daytime. Waking in the night is bad news when you are off to work in the morning. Work puts pressure upon people to get a full and refreshing night's sleep but when you're not working it doesn't matter too much if you spend an hour or two alert in the middle of the night. As for holidays, please consider Yorkshire - "Where holiday dreams come true".

Ms. Moon said...

Oh, those middle-of-the-night horrible thoughts. The tape gets put on play and round and round it goes.
It seems to be a universal human experience.
And it sucks.

ellen abbott said...

I was awake as well in the wee hours. read a little bit in my book and then put it aside and tried to sleep again, not feeling particularly sleepy but sleep I did at some point and then I had really crazy dreams none of which I can remember.

Sharon said...

I've had a few nights like that myself. I hate it when it happens because there doesn't seem to be anything you can do about it but wait it out.
BTW, Rattlers is exactly what I thought of seeing all those flashlights on the mountain.

jenny_o said...

I kind of like the idea of being left to nature as well, although I think I'd rather be left up in a tree. Not that I'll care when the time comes.

I wonder if the body farm has ever had a problem with murder victims being dumped there. Or animals dragging bones out of the area and people finding them. I can think of all kinds of logistical issues, but they've probably considered them already. Now I hope that doesn't keep ME up tonight.

Red said...

Nicely done to put the weather and your thoughts together on purpose or otherwise. You had a number of things that could keep you going round and round for a few hours.

The Bug said...

I've read a few murder mysteries that referred to the Body Farm. Thankfully, there were no pictures involved (although, as you know, a good writer can paint a pretty darn good picture!).

I HATE it when I get too awake in the night. It happens pretty rarely - I usually stumble to the bathroom & stumble back without really opening my eyes up all the way. But when it does happen it's never a good thing. I usually try to imagine what I would do if I won the lottery - that puts me right out. :)

37paddington said...

I certainly know about those swirling pre dawn thoughts!