Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
It’s funny how dreams work. I was dreaming about drawing detail into a sketch in a magazine. My friend, Martin, who has been an encourager of my writing, came into the room. I was telling him about this sketch and how much better it looked after I spruced it up. I was flipping through the pages of the magazine to show it to him, and became increasingly frustrated when I could not find it. I looked and looked, but to no avail. Then it occurred to me that perhaps it was all a dream in the first place. Then it became clearer and clearer that that it was, in fact, a dream, which explained why I couldn’t find it. Realizing that I was indeed dreaming, I woke up. I had to write this down quickly before I forgot the whole thing. I read it to Carlene, just to be sure I could read my chicken scratch penmanship before it was forever lost in my mind. She said it sounds like a dream sequence since it rambled. I think she’s right, sorry. I had already decided to write about our new mattress and thought this might make a humorous opening paragraph to a story that I might have difficulty putting into 750 words. I mean, c’mon, a whole story about getting a new bed? Why not, I can do it…
It’s been a busy time for the Boyd Suite, my tongue-in-cheek name for our guest bedroom. When we first set it up, we figured we could just put a futon bed in it and that would be fine. We have had several couples staying and I never really considered how uncomfortable it must have been for them to share such a small mattress. They never complained about it, but these are all friends and family, I suppose that would be expected. Coming soon is my son, Jon, who has been suffering from back problems for decades now. His wife is coming too. Carlene was concerned about this, and I really appreciate being married to a woman with her brain power. How could this not have occurred to me as well? He stayed with us for a little while when we were living in California and had to sleep on an inflatable mattress in the living room. That was a big factor in wanting to buy this house in Oklahoma. We love having a guest bedroom.
We have been sleeping on a “top of the line” Tempur-Pedic mattress that we bought decades ago. It was well past its expiration date but is still suitable for occasional use. It is a queen size, which was the largest size we could fit in our tiny California home when we purchased it. When I say it was the largest one that would fit, it is not an exaggeration. I had to walk sideways to get around the foot of the bed and up my side to get in. If I let my arm stick out on my side of the bed, it would hit the window. We have room in our Oklahoma master bedroom for a king size bed, so we figured it was time for a new one.
They say the life expectancy of a mattress is about ten years. I have trust issues about that, as you hear it mostly from those that are interested in selling you another new one. But that was just one of the many reasons why it was a good time for an upgrade. We got our new mattress delivered and installed. They even moved the old bed upstairs for us, so all the guests of the Boyd Suite, in the future, will have a much more comfortable sleep. And our sleep quality has also been upgraded. Is it too much to suggest that the quality of my dreams are better because of a more comfy night’s sleep? I don’t think so, but I do appreciate a reset on my sleep comfort timeline. They say, “sweet dreams are made of these—who am I to disagree?”
