I walked away from the homeless man on the street in Inwood as he asked me for money and one thought ran through my mind – “How am I any different than him?” We are both homeless. We both make little money and survive under the poverty line. But why am I staying in an apartment in upper Manhattan and he is not? Why do I have a subway card and he doesn’t?
Most people would immediately answer, “Because you work and have a job.”
Well, yes – I work, but for very little pay. I wonder sometimes if I wouldn’t make more money by peddling on the streets. Yet I certainly am not ready to try that out – after all I’m a horrible singer. So yes – I’m working, but I put in ridiculous hours and get very little monetary value.
I’m not stupid, I understand there are likely some vast differences between the homeless man in Inwood and me – education, and financial savings to start with. But when it comes down to it, I think the answer to my question on what makes us different is, “I have friends and family who are well established all around the world who support me.” It is them who provide me a bed or some sort of surface/shelter to sleep on every night. And because of them I am eternally thankful.
In fact this year they have supported me and my life of constant motion more than most years. This is the time of year, a time when my country gives thanks, that I look back on 2013 and determine just how much motion I’ve been in and how many beds I’ve slept in. As I counted these up for 2013 I was pretty astonished myself. I knew I had a very busy year and it felt as if I was moving around a lot, but my total count of beds definitely confirmed that.
So far in 2013 I have slept in 107 different ‘beds’!
In 2013 I moved to a different bed about every 3rd day.
I use the word ‘bed’ lightly – sometimes it’s a real bed, a sleeping bag, couch, an air mattress, futon, or a sofa sleeper. As long as I can be horizontal I’m pretty happy. However I’ve also had the other extreme – pure luxury – sleeping in lovely hotels, condos, castles, gorgeous homes via Airbnb, or cabins. I’ve also had my share of beds I slept in while in motion this year including trains, boats, and planes. This is what I love about my life – it’s full of variety.
Here’s a collection of some of my favorite places I slept in 2013 – luxurious, unusual, and homey.
Sleeping and Hiking at Ecocamp, Patagonia
Camping remotely during my kayaking trip in Torres Del Paine Chile
Sleeping among antiques at Blomidon Inn, Nova Scotia
Radison Blu Chicago – quite possibly the best pillows ever!
The place I slept in the longest – one month in this gorgeous apartment in Berlin doing the Liva La Vida Local Experiment
However in the back of my head I have this little nagging worry about the reliance I have on my friends and family for beds. When do I cross over from interesting nomadic traveler into freeloader homeless person in their eyes? It’s a fine line to me – one that I’m constantly aware of and worried about. However – no need to worry about what could be, it’s better to be in the present – so this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for beds and the friends/family, and businesses who provide them to me.
What were some of your favorite places you slept around in 2013?
By Sonali Chauhan November 29, 2013 - 1:54 am
Wow These are most Beautiful & comfortable sleeping beds. I love all these comfortable beds for sleeping 🙂 so Beautiful collection of beds.
By Tom Bartel November 29, 2013 - 6:51 am
Great idea, and a great reminder, too, of how thankful we are to also have beds to sleep in, even if we didn’t get up to 107. (I think our count is somewhere around 60, but I’m just guessing.) I’m going to have to start taking pics, just so I remember. All I have now are credit card receipts.
By Maria November 29, 2013 - 8:21 am
Ahhh – I heard you slept around and now I see just how much. Ha! They all look wonderful but Blue Aqua and Zen in Berlin are my favorites.
By Laura November 29, 2013 - 10:08 am
That ecocamp in Patagonia looks incredible! What a year 2013 has been for you as far as “sleeping around” haha!
By Jimmy @ Footsteps of Jim November 29, 2013 - 10:35 am
That 4 poster bed does look pretty cosy! I’d be scared of wriggling around to much in case I broke something! haha
By Sand In My Suitcase November 29, 2013 - 11:11 am
What a fun creative post! The antique bed looks the best. As travel writers/bloggers, we have a lot to be grateful for…
By Mary @ Green Global Travel December 2, 2013 - 11:32 am
This is such a great idea! What a collection of beds and stories! Patagonia and Berlin looks especially decadent!
By Shereen December 5, 2013 - 11:39 am
This is a great post. I look pictures of the houses and bedrooms I stayed when I was recently in Brazil more as a way to remember but it’s probably pretty cool to look back on it all as well. What was your worst bed of 2013?
By Sherry December 8, 2013 - 2:42 pm
Shereen – that’s a really good question – maybe the one in Oman where we started to sleep outside under the stars and in the middle of the night it started raining! We had to get up and then pitch the tent in the darkness and half asleep!
By Craig McBreen December 12, 2013 - 1:41 pm
That Patagonia setup looks pretty swank, really 😉
Then … the Radisson Blu Aqua. What a contrast.
Zen Berlin looks the most comfortable though.
Sleeping around can get pretty interesting, huh? Thanks for the reminder too. Now I’m thinking of all the family support I have. That is the difference.