Reflections
The problem was sleep. The answer was the hammock. The complication was the crow.
Just like Bai Juyi, as I get older, I sleep less and less. I’ve gotten into the habit of waking up at 3am, getting out of bed and playing piano until I get weary and turn in again for another hour or so. This whole change came about suddenly early last summer. My wife and I had planned to sell our house in Toronto and move to British Columbia. It should have been easy given the location of our home, but we couldn’t have picked a worse time to try to sell. Interest rates were high and the few looking to buy were in no mood to consider what we were asking. And so we had to put our plans on hold, take down the For Sale sign, and settle in for another summer. This is where the hammock comes in.
We live on the edge of a ravine on what Toronto realtors call a “ravine view” property — a very desirable place to be. “Ravine view” to them, “hammock perfect” to me since there’s nothing beyond the back yard fence but forest. Perfect solitude, perfect shade, and no sound other than the occasional plane overhead and the constant soothing chorus of birdsong. An excellent opportunity to catch up on lost sleep. And this is where the crow comes in…
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