Beneath the Wraps

                Neither Richard nor I slept well last night         I don ’ t think he ’ s slept well for the last two months         I ’ ve had some regular sleeps off and on We both take cold medicine cough medicine sleep medicine and so forth         We ’ re driving down to Ashland tomorrow to get Jaime and bring her home for a month         I want Richard to be well         I want for both of us to sleep again.

 Backup to Memorial weekend and the following week           It doesn’t appear that most of us have slept well.   I sleep too well perhaps;   I have been drinking Energy Shots every morning as I am constantly tired – tired to the point of mushy mind and absolute lame company.            Carrie and Randy, of course, are not used to the chickens cackling or the roosters going off at random hours.   Randy thinks the youngest rooster sounds like a helium balloon that is slowly loosing air at the lip.   I have been so out of it that I no longer hear the fowl.   I do hear Jenna talking when she’s on her phone and I hear the blare of the television.             It has been a long while since I heard the screaming or crying from a one-year-old child.   My gosh, that kid has lungs.   Overall he has been happy but there have been ...