When I can’t sleep I think about how many New Yorkers are up at this hour because of bed bugs. Afraid to go to bed, or unable to sleep. Flashlight in hand, searching, always searching for bed bugs, for signs. Or perhaps they’ve graduated from the flashlight to the cutting edge, an LED headlamp. Serious tools for a sorrowful job—paid for with plastic of course, along with plastic bags, plastic bins, plastic everything. Some sectors of the economy are getting a stimulus…
Maybe they’re deep into 40-plus tabs of an internet maze, looking for the killer tips, hesitating before the bed bug potions that seem almost plausible at this hour, reading sad bed bug stories in order to feel less alone.
If you’ve never had bed bugs, can you understand what this means? Somehow, I hope the answer to that question is yes.
This is what I’ve been reading lately, perhaps it may help illuminate what it’s like, if you’re lucky enough to be visiting us in a context that is not personal:
- Nina Paley – the ordeal of having bed bugs during the festival circuit of her acclaimed animated film, Sita Sings the Blues, I can’t even imagine…
- Unlucky in Bugs – a New Yorker coping bravely and documenting the process step-by-step… it will be sweet when success comes!
Oh and as a bonus, here’s one fabulous New Yorker who really, really gets it, as well you might if you knew a dozen people who’ve been personally affected and, not insignificantly, if you’d lived in Greenpoint. (And do yourself a favor and don’t miss Mangy’s photos.)
As for New Yorkers who don’t get it? Wouldn’t it be fun to name them? Maybe we will, some day.
These pages may be of related interest:
Good writing really enjoying your blog.