The darkest hour is just before dawn...

We stayed in a number of different places while on the road. Some were chosen in advance... some were merely chosen by where we wanted to go that day or when we wanted to stop. One thing did not change... when we got there, Grizzled let me decide which side of the bed I was sleeping on.

Grizzled and I have been sharing beds for over 2 decades now. He said he used to think I always chose the same side, no matter the room, but he soon learned that was wrong. He then said he thought it was the side farthest away from the door, but that wasn't right either. He then realized it was safest to just let me pick... my picking being done the minute I walk in. I sense the side I want and plop my stuff down. I have been known to switch sides during a visit though if the room doesn't feel right, even though I know switching sides won't necessarily help. Sometimes the bed is just off.

We stayed in one of these rooms while on the road. It did not feel good to me and neither did the bed. I woke up in the middle of the night, certain something was in front of me. I could feel it. If I opened my eyes, I'd see it and I didn't want to. I also knew I had a chair next to my side of the bed and had put a bunch of my stuff in it so that was probably it. I opened my eyes and sure enough, saw a large, dark mass. I reached out, felt one of my bags and then something else that didn't feel familiar. I jumped and made some panicked noise.  I snatched my hand back in as fast as I could, pulled up the covers even though it was hot, and inched over to Grizzled's side... slowly enough that he wouldn't realize he only had 5 inches on which to sleep... and then I waited... it was a long night.

I'm not afraid of a lot, but my senses/imagination can have their way with me in the dark. Maybe it was too many horror movies as a kid... one too many scary novels, or camping out with friends and trying to scare the bejesus out of each other... or my brothers, who liked to torment like only brothers can... I like to be scared, but when I choose. I don't like to be afraid at night, which is why I'm glad I don't have to sleep alone... even when I was alone, I still had a dog. 

I remember when I was much younger and my grandmother was still alive and living by herself, I would ask her if she was afraid at night, wasn't she tempted to sleep with a light on... somewhere?? (She had a creepy basement with dirt walls... and a scary attic... those two places would immediately pop into my mind if I was staying overnight at her otherwise wonderful house....) She said she grew up with no electricity so darkness did not bother her. She also had the Lord to look over her... Well, Grandma's Lord gave me a wicked imagination that likes to mess with me... so again, I am glad I don't have to sleep alone. I am also glad I have someone who can sleep anywhere... and doesn't mind that I need to pick my side of the bed... or who doesn't mind when I leave him only 5 inches to sleep on because I am sure that something out of Grandma's basement is sitting next to my side.

The sinister wooly bison still haunts me... and it was in our hotel room that night... I know it.

Comments

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

A shame you didn't make it to Berkeley Springs, you could have had the prime upstairs bedroom with the ginormous bed. (I always stay in the basement.)
~

[Jennifer]

I thought you were going to say that the woods there are full of wooly bison... :)

thunder... when you told me before that you were ensconced in the basement, my mind went to a scary unfinished basement... and I thought of you being in the woods and I wondered how many spiders you were sharing your space with.

Also... it doesn't matter how large the bed is, if I'm creeped-out and inching over to the safety of Grizzled's side, he'll still only get 5 inches of bed... unless I manage a maneuver that allows us to switch sides.

[Jennifer]

Also... I'm assuming you never get freaked out staying there alone?? :)

I remember one time when EL was very, very young. We went up to the lake for a week, Grizzled joining us on the weekends... I, of course, had the dogs, two different dogs than we have now, but I had the dogs. Anyhow, it was when Andrew Cunanan was on the loose. I think every water heater noise I heard, every elk noise I heard, every house settling noise I heard was him. I did not sleep well that week.

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

I did. I heard what sounded like rats or something bigger running around upstairs.

I went up with the fireplace poker. Turns out whatever it was, wasn't inside the house. But it sure sounded like it was (and I was somewhat concerned about getting my flip-flop-wearing feet bitten).

You never hear noises like that when doggy is around.
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[Jennifer]

Maybe it was rats!!!

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

Rattageddon!
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[Jennifer]

I saw that movie at a drive-in! It was awesomely BAD!!! Ida Lupino died in the arms of a rat... I don't recall what happened to Marjo Gortner, or whatever his name was... wasn't he an evangelist for a while??

Thundra- I bet what you heard was this... you said you had a fireplace, right?

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

There's actually an upstairs fireplace and a downstairs fireplace.
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[Jennifer]

Nice. My childhood home and an upstairs and downstairs fireplace. However, it did mean double the possibility of the veiny potato people.

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

Well here's the thing: the upstairs potato people feel superior to the downstairs p.p., and next thing you know, they get to feuding.

So you get left alone.

P.S. Just realized: I've got a bee video I could post! Probably take at least a half hour to upload it to youtuber, so I best get on with it.
~

[herr doktor bimler]

Maybe it was rats!!!
Skwirls.

[herr doktor bimler]

if I'm creeped-out and inching over to the safety of Grizzled's side, he'll still only get 5 inches of bed

LUXURY. It's always impressive how much bed two cats can occupy. For some reason, it's always MY SIDE.

Perhaps they are trying to make up for the duvet, which has mysteriously migrated over to the Frau Doktorin's side.

[Jennifer]

Dogs are the same way. I swear, our smaller dog can spread to cover more space than all of us combined. Squirmy Little Dog would never dream of trying to take over Grizzled's side. I am the easy mark.

I am guilty of yanking covers until they are diagonal on the bed and Grizzled is shivering. I think I kick them one way with my feet and then yank them across me with my hands... either way, Grizzled ends up losing.

[Jennifer]

I HATE this new capcha!!! Pretty soon they'll have us typing entire blurred manuscripts! I wouldn't have turned it on had I not found endless pron spam on my site this morning. I blame hdb's cats.

[herr doktor bimler]

The Frau Doktorin seems to fasten onto the duvet somehow and then spends the night rotating slowly on her axis until she is wrapped in it,

[Jennifer]

Oh yeah... I've used that strategy before. :) Lock on and roll... lock on and roll...

[herr doktor bimler]

I blame hdb's cats
That Siamese lad is capable of anything.

[Jennifer]

I bet he wears party pajamas...

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

All cats where pajamas, don't they?
~

[Pinko Punko]

GC has those rules!

She says that it is the farthest from the door, but I know there are 50 asterices.

[B^4]

I could feel it. If I opened my eyes, I'd see it and I didn't want to.

That's like a line out of a John Bellairs book!

Thundra- I bet what you heard was this... you said you had a fireplace, right?

I've never seen the whole movie, but the parts I've seen had a really creepy vibe.

[Jennifer]

but I know there are 50 asterices.

:) That sounds right.

B^4- It does have a very creepy vibe. It scared me when I was younger, but I've seen it again as an adult and while dated in some areas, it's still pretty creepy.

[herr doktor bimler]

That's like a line out of a John Bellairs book!

As a result of hanging out in 2nd-hand bookshops I have just acquired my own copy of "Face in the Frost".

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

What's all this about 50 asterices in the State Department?

P.S. Spielchuck doesn't like that word.
~

[Another Kiwi]

Thanks for the post Jennifer. I am now thinking about fear and the part it plays in our lives. Big stuff and little stuff, there's lots of fear innit.

[Jennifer]

Thanks AK. Yes, there is... a lot of fear, and often about silly stuff, or just stuff that will never come to pass.

[herr doktor bimler]

If it is darkest just before dawn, that explains all the noise the birds start making about then. They are trying to find their nests and flying into objects and making a fuss about it. They are noisy buggers with no consideration for people who are trying to go to sleep.

[zombie rotten mcdonald]

DID YOU SEE ME WAVING, JENNIFER?

I WAS DOING IT AS HARD AS I COULD. NEARLY DROVE INTO A MAZDA.

[Jennifer]

Those freakin' birds are LOUD that time of day... but then I'm freshly awake... not boozed up and ready for bed ala bimler.

ZRM- I saw you! I waved back!!! I also saw the Mazda flip you off...

[Substance McGravitas]

Maybe it was rats!!!

Ugh. Just heard some scratching that seemed to be coming from inside a kitchen cabinet. No evidence yet, but there might be something running around under the false bottom. There's only one visible entry point unless they've chewed through a wall: turns out the pipes have a pretty huge space around them that leads into the rest of the building. Covered it all up with foil tonight, off to the store for steelwool and traps tomorrow.

[Jennifer]

Ewwww!

[ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©]

Reminds me of a song...
~

[Kathleen]

I am also reminded of a song but I can't remember which

[fish]

Oooh, I hate the can't remember witch, or maybe it was the ennui witch. I can't remember.

[Kathleenb]

REMEMBERED