If you're just joining all the craziness, I'm telling stories about a very strange, and slightly embarrassing, aspect of my life...
I sleepwalk. I'm a sleepwalker. I talk, I walk, and apparently, I dive over other people in my sleep regardless of my face's opinions on violence. So yeah, things get a bit crazy now and then.
And this next story only adds to all the fun.
W A L K O F S H A M E
The following events occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada. I can't say that I love the place, but our family has had some fun there over the years. I particularly enjoyed a ride called Big Shot, which launches you to the top of the Stratosphere Hotel, 1,081 feet up! It was good fun and you should try it.
One year in particular, though, my parents told my sister and I that we could each bring a friend along. I invited my friend, Chet (not his real name), and he decided to join us. So we all loaded up and headed out on the open road for a 900+ mile drive from Northern Idaho.
I always love a good road-trip!
Once we had arrived, we got settled in to our giant room of a place and started having fun. There was much to do and we did it all. We saw some great shows, ate some amazing food, and explored the best of it.
And then the fun began.
One night, I remember having a disconcerting dream. In the dream, I found myself in someone else's home. I didn't know how I got there, but I was aware that the residents were strangers to me. And that it was nighttime... and that I needed to get out as quickly and quietly as possible. The realism of dreams can be insane, and it was all quite unsettling.
So my mission was simple: Get The Heck Out.
As quietly as I could, I found the front door and went to it. And not far from there was another door. It led into the master bedroom and I knew that the owners were there, fast sleep on the other side. At this, my heart started to pound a bit faster. One wrong move and I knew that I'd be in a real bad situation. I wasted no time in finding the door knob.
I remember turning it as quietly as I could, opening the door, and then closing it behind me with just as much care. From there, I didn't know where to go; I just started wandering. All I knew was that I didn't want to be anywhere near that house.
Around this time, my dream began to fade and, like a cruel joke, reality kicked in. I awoke to find myself standing in front of a vending machine. I immediately looked around and saw some elevators to my left. "Where am I?" I thought to myself. I really didn't know! But it wasn't long before memories of our trip to Vegas found their way back into my mind. And then I realized something awful...
I wasn't wearing any clothes.
Well, to be fair, I was wearing boxers. But for a young boy in such an awkward situation, I might as well been completely naked! The only positive thing was that before I snuck away, I was smart enough to steal a blanket! It was a smart move, I must say. I had wrapped a bedspread around my shoulders. But now there was a new problem.
Not only did I not know where in the hotel I had wandered to, I didn't have a room key on me!
If you've ever slept-walk before, you know how disorienting it can be when you wake up. You find yourself trying to remember things by piecing together whatever you can. And while it's not a fun experience, per se, it can be exhilarating!
This is especially true when you find yourself unclothed in a random corridor of a large hotel and you don't have a room key or any knowledge of your room number. And should you locate the front desk for help, you surely don't have a logical alibi for the situation you're in. I can just see it now. "Uuuh-huh, Mr. Salisbury. 'Sleepwalking,' you say? Yeah, we get that all the time around here. Your room number's 1402."
Welcome to my life.
Thankfully, none of these immediate concerns made a difference. As it turned out, I hadn't wandered too far from the room and it was easy to locate. But I still didn't have a room key! As I approached the door, I was freaking out a little. What if I had to knock and wake everyone up? What would my parents say? After all, we're in Sin City and I'm locked out of our room in the middle of the night...
In my underwear!
Wait, how did that get in there??
As I came to the door, I was now quite panicky. But to my
greeaat relief, I had left it cracked open!
"Whew! That was a close one," I thought. I snuck back into our room, found the bedroom Chet and I were in, and slipped back under the covers with no questions asked.
But while this story had a good ending, I can't say the same about this next one...
Note:
A "Mystery Post" is a post selected totally at random. There's a lot
to explore on this blog & this is a fun way to do it! Enjoy!
