98
MLBLUE
SPRING2017
BACK
PAGE
words :: Scott Parent
It cameuponce inconversationwhile Iwassitting in
RavenPark, Canmore: the“sleepingenemy”weall
become inapublicplace themomentwe fall asleep.
Thinkabout it: it’sfine tosit onaparkbenchwitha
drink inyourhand, or abook. Adogattached.But
themoment you tuck inon thatbench for thenight,
thesocial guardwill emerge insome formor another
tomake it known that youcan’t sleep there.
Back in thedayswhen Iwasdriftingalong theTrans-
Canada livingout of anexternal-framebackpack,
choosingwhere toputmyheaddownwasa
selectiveprocess. I didonceget awaywithsleeping
directlyunder theTerryFoxmonument, outside
ThunderBay. Another time, inLethbridge, Iwas
blastedbysprinklers thatdoubleddutyassleeping-
enemydeterrents. I’veoftenkeptmysleep footprint
to theminimum, anddodgedany real hassles.But
what is thedifferencebetweenstandingor sitting in
apublicspace, andsleeping there?There isavariety
of civil actionswecancarryout inpublicspacesand
sleeping isnotoftenoneof them. Publicspacesare
usuallyopenonly toawakemembersof society.
Dozeandbeware.
Thewildernessgivesus theopportunity to rest in
anycompromisedpositionwechoose,with freedom
fromcomplaint about sleepingsocomfortablywith
so little.Onenightwhilecampingwithagroupalong
theshoreofGeorgianBayatBoulderBeach, northof
Lion’sHead, folksbegan turning in toward their tents
for thenight.MydaughterThalassa, aged four at
the time, restedcurled intome; bothof us reclined
against thegentlyplacedstonesbeside thedying
embersof ourfire. Shewanted tokeepwatching the
moon, andwebothdriftedoff intosleepcovered
onlyby theclotheswewerewearing. At somepoint
theorangeglowof thefiredisappeared.By the time
5a.m. camealong, thecoldhadcrept throughmy
bonesenough towakemeup. Theearly-morningsky
began to fade thestars, and I packedThalassaup
andheaded for the tent towarmup. Singingbirds
concludedoneof thebest sleeps I can recall.
Even thoughyoumayormaynotmeetpeople in
thebackcountry, let’sconsider itpublic territory.
Running intosomeonesleepingout in theopennear
apublic trailwouldprobablyspook theheckoutof
theaveragepasserby.Why issleeping inpublicsuch
a fauxpas, even in thewilderness?
There isoneplacewhere thedozer cansneak in
anodunder thenoseof society; but they’ll never
get a full sleep in. At themovies, havingpaid for a
ticket, youcansit for twohoursanddozeasmuch
asyou like.Here, thesleepingenemyhas found
acceptance. Andhardlyanyonenotices.
Thewildernessgivesus the
opportunity to rest inany
compromisedpositionwe choose,
with freedom from complaint about
sleepingsocomfortablywithso little.
THE
SLEEPING
ENEMY
WHYDOZING INPUBLIC IS
ANYTHINGBUTRESTFUL
"Oneof thebest sleeps I can recall..."David Loopstradodges hassles nearWhiteBluff,BrucePeninsula. GLENHARRIS
