Communal living gives you all sorts of insight into humanity, both positive and negative. Here at Camp Coast Care, we eat and sleep in a school gymnasium. Partitions are set up to give some tinge of privacy - ha and ha - 20-30 cots per area, plus an area in the balcony. Here are a couple of my communal sleeping insights for the week:- People sleep in a variety of clothing - flannel bottoms and t-shirts, silky gowns, sweat suits, lovely robes, and yes, even shorty pjs (but not Shorty PJs - flannel bottoms/t-shirt is my gig here).
- People have different sleep patterns. Lights out at 10pm here, but some of us stay up later reading by flashlight (guilty!), some fall right to sleep then get up in the wee hours to play cards with other night owls some are up and down all night to go to the bathroom, some hit their cots at 2am after taking conversations to the tents outside. (But lights on at 6:30am, whatever the sleep pattern.)
- People make an infinite number of sounds when they sleep. Moans, giggles, grunts, coughs. But the greatest variety is in the snoring category. Remember the song in Mary Poppins "I Love to Laugh," where Bert and Albert go through all the types of ways people laugh? Well, we could do the same for snoring. One of our crew hit her cot after most everyone else was asleep last night, and she said it was a screamingly funny symphony of snores. Soft rattled breathing to ear-splitting, window-shattering nuclear explosions - they're all here, my friends. All night, every night. Bring ear-plugs if you're a light sleeper.
- People have different wake-up patterns. Some hop right out of bed, scurry to the loo, and come out shiny bright and ready for breakfast. Other have to open one eye slowly and work themselves up to swinging their feet over the side of the cot and crawling to do their morning ablutions.
I've been a good trouper in this big gym living situation and it's been a lot easier and more fun than I ever imagined. But I'm starting to fantasize about tomorrow night and sinking my sheetrock, trash-hauling body into my own sweet bed. Ahhh!
5 comments:
Well done Mary!
I'm not sure I've got it in me to do the big volunteering thing.
[And, let's face it - we rarely have the big natural disasters over here that make such efforts necessary.]
But people who are able to knuckle-down and take up the slack for others - they're special.
Ah, yes, there ain't no place like home and yer own bed!
They would run me out of that gym in a hurry. Most human animals will not stay in the same house with me because of my snoring, which has been know to peel paint and shatter glass.
You're an inspiration. Have a safe trip home, Mary. Sweet dreams.
woa i couldnt fall asleep in all that noise! I would be happy to add to it though.
Well done Mary. You've really put your money where your mouth is!! We can all make a difference even if only in a small way, but you have actually done something about it.
xx big kiss mate
(dont worry i wont actually give you the kiss its more of an emmotional solidarity thing with a hint of a lick on the face from a dog - but at least its sincere :)
It should be called Camp Cult Care... the place is a freaking nightmare. Name tags, chores, hand holding, chanting and singing... I'm afraid to drink the kool-aid.
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