It’s March 23, and, sadly, my insomnia has returned in India, though, given the noms and slow pace of life, I have no reason to be sleepless. (It’s due to pure anxiety: fear of not falling asleep.) But I do my best. On this day in history, Patrick Henry delivered his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech in 1775 in Richmond, Virginia, further inspiring American revolutionaries. On March 23, 1808, Lewis and Clark, having reached the Pacific Ocean on their epic journey across North America, turned around and headed for home. In 1919, Mussolini established his fascist movement, and, in 1933, Hitler was made the dictator of Germany. And, on this day in 1983, the highly overrated Ronald Reagan proposed his ill-fated Strategic Defense Initiative to shoot down incoming missiles. Nobody thought it would work and, thank Ceiling Cat, the expensive albatross was never hung around the nation’s neck.
Notable births on this day included Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749), originator of the most famous non-accommodationist slogan, Emmy Noether (1882), and Erich Fromm (1900). Those who died on this day include Elizabeth Taylor (2011). It’s Pakistan Day in Pakistan, and tomorrow is Holi, the Indian spring holiday with Hindu antecedents. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili refuses to lend Andrzej a helping paw:
Hili: I’m afraid…A: What are you afraid of?Hili: That you will have to get the pen that fell off your desk out from under this sofa yourself.
Hili: Obawiam się…
Ja: Czego się obawiasz?
Hili: Że ten długopis, który spadł z twojego biurka, to będziesz sam wyciągał spod tej sofy.
And, out in Winnipeg, Gus continues to shred his box. There’s very little left by now:
Finally, to enjoy this lovely white peacock displaying, courtesy of reader Barry and the Wonderful Nature Facebook page, click on the screenshot below. It’s one of the most stunning examples of sexual selection I know.
“….in 1919, Hitler was made the dictator of Germany”
Misprint in dates here. In March 1919 Hitler was a penniless ex-soldier who’d barely begun to contemplate a political career. I think you must be referring to 23rd March 1933, when the Reichstag passed the “Enabling Act” allowing him to govern without reference to the German parliament.
Yep, you’re right. I fixed it, thanks.
My Dad once told me it doesn’t matter if you can’t get to sleep. Just lying there relaxed and quiet in the dark works almost as well as actually being asleep.
Once you accept that, the anxiety about not sleeping goes away and likely as not, you fall asleep.
My mother said the exact same thing. I don’t know how much truth is in it, but it did put me at ease about not immediately falling asleep.
I agree… one might try ‘surrendering’ to it, and just practice noticing your breath. Or one could get up and read.
And Fromm with two ’ems’, Jerry.
In the mid 80’s I was working for a government contract company on a request for proposal for the Strategic Defense Initiative. The concept in the RFP was vague and unrealistic. We were all asked to make suggestions about what technology might work to shoot down Ruskey’s missiles. Basically, lowly programmers like me were being asked to try to devise a system that would respond to the content of Reagan’s speeches. It was intuitively obvious that the whole notion was nothing more than hot air. I quickly came to believe that the goal was not to build anything, but just to give the USSR something to worry about. Something that would encourage them to waste funds in trying to compete. Maybe it worked.
Really can’t understand the problem. All you had to do was hit a small target traveling very fast though outer space and with 100% accuracy. Ready, fire, aim.
It was on the West Wing that Bartlett and McGarry were attending a demo of an anti ballistic missile system. The dialogue goes like this:
LEO
[sternly] By how much did it miss the target?
GENERAL
Colonel?
COLONEL
137.
LEO
We missed the target by 137 feet?
COLONEL
Miles.
A quick scan of Wikipedia shows research is ongoing in many countries. The U.S. has deployed some anit-ICBM systems. Success rates are going up, but the idea of putting up an impenetrable shield is still science fiction.
My sure fire cure for insomnia, never fails:
Lie tossing and turning all night and the moment the alarm clock goes off you will have absolutely no trouble falling asleep,
Ain’t that the truth?! ;(
“Notable births on this day included Pierre-Simon Laplace (1849)…”
Born 1749 actually.
You can see how groggy I was this a.m. from the number of errors I made. All fixed, thanks.
Hili was just putting the item where everything else ends up.
Patrick Henry, famous for that one line but did not fight in the war and refused to go to Philly in 1787 as a representative from Virginia. And was an anti-federalist. His real fame was for talking – he was big on talk, very little on action. We have plenty of them today — some even running for president.
About fear of not falling to sleep. Reverse the pyschology. Command yourself not to sleep and lie there thinking of nothing. Works for me. Sometimes.
I had trouble sleeping for a long time after my husband died (20 years ago). Fortuitously, I read a summary of studies of sleep deprivation and learned that quiet resting gives most (not all, but most) of the benefits of sleep itself. I found it true. Rest. Take slow, deep, calm breaths. Think. Let your mind range freely. The night can be a good time for writing. As in, think, plan, and the next morning get up and the writing flows, at least until you use up all the material you mentally wrote the previous night. I hope you can at least enjoy the insomnia, if not sleep.
(We all know that what works for one person may not for another. My intentions are good though the actuality . . .)
Great advice.
Hallo Professor, in 1919 Hiltler was an unemployed veteran of the First World War. He seized absolute power in 1933 with the infamous enabling act. Of all parties in the German Reichstag only the Social Democrats (hear, hear) voted against but in vain.
I’ve found that turning away any visible clocks can help with insomnia. Also closing ones eyes, relaxing all your muscles, and then emptying your mind. The clock thing is easier. 😉
Hi Jerry. Sorry you are experiencing insomnia. Being sleep deprived is so unpleasant.
I have a question for you and/or Andrzej. How long did it take for Hili and Cyril to become friendly with one another? I just adopted a lovely Plott hound cross puppy and my cat Chloe is very intrigued by him, but also alarmed by his bumptious behaviour. Have you any suggestions of things I might try to foster a good relationship between the two of them? Thank you very much!
Suggestions from readers would also be much appreciated.
Congrats on the new puppy! How exciting!
With a puppy that’s just rambunctious and a cat that’s not too frightened to begin with, I’d say you just have to wait a few weeks, maybe less. I find that feeding them together* helps; normally they’ll both be so intent on getting their food that they won’t notice how close to each other they get when their intent is just to get close to you!
My daughter adopted a fairly large, gawky, speed demon of a 6 month old pup about a month ago. She has a couple of senior cats that were perfectly mellow with her old dog, and both my dogs. But the new pup appeared to be a bit too zippy & boisterous around the kittehs. She found that leaving the gentle leader head harness on the pup while at home inhibited the untoward rowdiness. (And of course, never leaving them together unsupervised.) A month later things have calmed down wonderfully, though the cats still have a room with a cat door that only they can get through, when they want some peace.
*Prepare/dish out their food at the same time, that is. Space the bowls far enough from each other that the pets don’t distract each other. And police the action, of course! If (when) the dog finishes first, you might want to let the cat continue eating in some more inaccessible place (and/or remove the dog).
Thank you Malgorzata. Here’s hoping that Chloe and Baron are like Pia and her puppy!
Oops! Sorry, distracted by rambunctious puppy! Thanks Diane. I’ve cut a cat sized hole in a baby gate that helps. Cyrus of course 🙂
Oh, that sounds very resourceful!
Psst: It’s Cyrus, not Cyril. 😉
For Cyrus and Hili it took 3 months. For a time poor Cyrus even had to be on a leash at home, with the leash tied to the wall so Hili could come close to him but on a safe distance. It was quite different with our previous cat, Pia. She was grown up when we took in a very big but only 8 weeks old puppy. After initial alarm Pia understood that this was a huge baby and accepted him. Whole his life this huge puppy who grew up to a huge dog treated the tiny Pia as his absolutely superior goddess.
That is so sweet! 🙂
Years ago we had something similar but opposite, when our large grown labrador adopted our 8-week-old kitten–so cute.
Many years later the same dog adopted baby Hili and behaved like the most dotting grandfather.
Awww! 🙂
Why I am definitely a cat and a dog person. We three species have co-evolved for so long.
Thank you Malgorzata. Here’s hoping that Chloe and Baron are like Pia and her puppy!
Insomnia: try reciting the alphabet backwards in your head. Strangely that works (sometimes) for me.
I wonder if giving Gus a little coconut oil everyday would affect his penchant for shredding cardboard (not that we necessarily want him to stop). I wonder if he’s wanting some extra fats in his diet. Just curious. Our old girl loves coconut oil and makes a special squawk to demand it.
There’s fat in cardboard? 🙄