KICK YOUR ENTHUSIASM (13)
By:
February 14, 2022
One in a series of 25 enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on the topic of a favorite sidekick — whether real-life or fictional.
FAMILIAR
I didn’t sleep well then. I would start to drop off and suddenly a rush of adrenaline would wake me up. In this way I only got snatches of sleep. I had been told my whole life that I should get eight hours of sleep a night, but it was hard to do.
I left the house to go to my local bookstore. As I walked, a cat appeared. I went in, and he followed. We sat together that November evening in the reading room, him settling on a footstool with his legs tucked under, me in a chair across, elbows on knees, hands clasped, looking at him. He looked back at me, with intent. His coat was sleek, heavy and black.
The bookstore was about to close. I went to get a book, something I hoped would help me fall asleep. He watched me choose, stretching.
I went to the counter to buy the book. As I stood waiting he wove a figure eight around and between my feet. I left the bookstore and walked home. I glanced back once or twice to see him trotting behind. When I opened my front door, before I could turn around, he had run past me into the apartment. He went straight to my bed, leapt into it and curled up. I got a bowl of water for him and opened the window next to the bed. That night, as he sat watching, I fell asleep immediately and slept all night without waking, for the first time in months. I slept consciously, lucid dreaming. I walked around naked telling people, this is a dream, you know? They looked askance at me. To them I was an “acid casualty” but I didn’t care, this was my dream and it made me laugh. I jumped high and far, flew around doing whatever I wanted. I got thirsty. I wondered if dream water could quench real thirst. I made a water fountain and drank. It didn’t work. So I woke up to get real water. The cat who cured my insomnia was sitting by the window sill, taking the air. We were nameless and light. Nameless and Light.
KICK YOUR ENTHUSIASM: INTRODUCTION by Josh Glenn | Annie Nocenti on RATSO | Barbara Bogaev on TRIXIE | Sara Ryan on SWIFT WIND | Carlo Rotella on BELT BEARERS | Adam McGovern on JACKIE McGEE | Josh Glenn on RAWHIDE | Gabriela Pedranti on KUILL | Douglas Wolk on VOLSTAGG | Serdar Paktin on CATO | Deirdre Day on TRAMPAS | Dean Haspiel on TIN MAN | Flourish Klink on THE APOSTLE PETER | Miranda Mellis on FAMILIAR | Peggy Nelson on COSMO | Beth Lisick on MARTHA BROOKS | Bishakh Som on CAPTAIN HADDOCK | Stephanie Burt on SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE | Greg Rowland on SPOCK | Adam Netburn on SENKETSU | Mimi Lipson on ROBIN QUIVERS | Jonathan Pinchera on GUTS | Tom Nealon on TWIKI | Mandy Keifetz on DR. EINSTEIN | Judith Zissman on IGNATZ MOUSE | Anthony Miller on DOCTOR GONZO.
JACK KIRBY PANELS | CAPTAIN KIRK SCENES | OLD-SCHOOL HIP HOP | TYPEFACES | NEW WAVE | SQUADS | PUNK | NEO-NOIR MOVIES | COMICS | SCI-FI MOVIES | SIDEKICKS | CARTOONS | TV DEATHS | COUNTRY | PROTO-PUNK | METAL | & more enthusiasms!