Adventures in Bed

 

by Pa Rock

Nocturnal Warrior

It's been awhile since I was last attacked in my sleep.  I did ride out a couple of earthquakes on my old iron bed during my last stay on the Japanese island of Okinawa more that a decade ago, but the last time I was physically assaulted while slumbering was in Arizona in around 2008 when I woke up tangled in the sheets and fighting like hell to get away from an angry scorpion.  The little bastard got me three times before I finally snuffed him.

Rosie and I are in Kansas City for a short visit.  Normally it is hard for me to get to sleep in a different environment, especially if I am tired - such as after a long drive - and last night was no exception.  I had laid in bed for more than an hour when I finally started to get drowsy.   I was just on the cusp of that magic moment of sleep arriving when my world suddenly exploded.  As I lay there in a strange bed, in a dark room, from literally out of nowhere a very surprised cat landed on my face.  I was, of course, equally surprised and knocked the late-night marauder to the floor.

Re-run, the family cat, is a stealthy creature who never goes outside, and consequently does all of his big game hunting darting from room to room and cleverly hiding during the hunts.  Unbeknownst to me or Rosie, the sneaky cat had secreted himself somewhere in the bedroom before I closed the door and turned off the lights.  But by the time he jumped on the bed and landed on my face, Re-run had apparently forgotten about me or misjudged where I was at on the bed, and he seemed every bit as surprised as me when I sat up and knocked him to the floor.

Rosie stayed quiet and apparently slept through all the excitement - or maybe she was too terrified to get involved.   I elected just to stay in bed, cover my head, and forget about the damned cat because I knew that if I got up, turned on the light, and began looking for furry marauder, Rosie would join in the free-for-all.  An hour or so later, just as sleep was about to arrive for a second time, I heard a soft mewing and could see the bad kitty sitting in front of the door asking to be let out.  I got up and obliged him, ending an evening that neither of us is likely to forget.