Last night Louise and I were climbing into bed, taking our favorite sleeping potions, and thinking of ways to extend the day just a little longer, hoping we could stave off death just a few more hours. My insanity kicked in. "Do you want to watch Band of Brothers?" I asked.
"Sure," she said. "We can fall asleep to it."
Band of Brothers is our favorite war film, and we watch it several times a year. All six discs, two big episodes per disc. We moan with almost every frame, and for a couple of film freaks, moaning is a good thing. Still, I hesitated. This didn't sound relaxing or sleep inducing. What was I thinking?
Louise had no trouble with the idea. "We can fall asleep to it," she said.
I put in the first of six discs, knowing full well that I would not fall asleep during Band of Brothers. But hey, what better thing to do? Fall asleep? We started with "Curahee," then on to "Day of Days."
"It's 11:30," I said. Shall we stop now?" I asked.
"No," she said. "I'm still awake. Put in the next disc."
Disc 2, "Carentan." Disc 2, part 2, "Replacements." I am now wide awake. It is 1:15 AM. I hit the play button.
"We don't have anything to do tomorrow," I heard her mutter from beneath her blankets.
We are both drawn off course at the joy of a distraction. No matter that we'll be cleaning house tomorrow before her siblings show up for card night. No matter that we need to get desserts, that there will be last minute scrambles for groceries of one unforeseen kind or another. No matter about dry cleaners, papers to read, joys to kill.
But now I'm hooked on the film, as I knew I would be. As I start "Replacements," disk 2, part 2, I hear Louise's breathing becoming heavy. I cannot stop. Parachuting into Market Gardents. Louise breathes easily now. My eyes itch, but I'm marching with that band of brothers, dodging surprise Nazi machine gun fire, scrambling into a barn for cover. At 2 AM, the episode ends. Louise is deep in sleep. I remove the disc and put it away. Time even for an obsessive old man to knock it off. My sleep potion is losing its potency, and I need to catch it on the tail end.
In saner moments, I would have played my favorite resting piece, the "Humming Chorus," from Madame Butterfly. Now that's music to relax to. See if you don't agree:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f1k14GQmNE
What's your favorite way to fall asleep?
I don't usually have a problem falling asleep, but--the past few years--my husband turns on a show. First it was Doc Martin and then 30 Rock, which makes me giggle, even when I'm sleeping.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting about Band of Brothers, though. I'm not sure I could fall asleep to that. My husband loves Band of Brothers. He watches it every year out in the barn where the guns and blood won't bother anyone else. Sometimes I see the blue light of the tv flicker through the ban windows and I know he's happy.
Lying down.
ReplyDeleteI could never fall asleep to this, but "Humming Chorus" reminded me of Rachmaninoff piano concerto 2 Adagio Sostenuto
ReplyDelete(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj8kJSbxwFE)
I agree. The Rach adagio exquisitely painful and beautiful.
Deletei lay in bed with the lights out until mike falls asleep (which usually takes about 45 seconds). then i turn on the lamp, prop myself up with some pillows and read until my eyes get heavy. my eyes don't usually get heavy until 3 am. not having a job to report to in the morning has only made things worse. being up by 10:30 am is a victory.
ReplyDeleteA foot rub puts me to sleep faster than anything. The best kind of sleep pill - no deadly side effects and I don't have to report it to my doctor.
ReplyDelete