Usually when I can't sleep and don't know what to do with myself, I listen to and share Puccini/Pavarotti's "Nessun Dorma" ("None Shall Sleep").
Tonight, my dad lies alone in a hospital bed 2000 miles away, sedated, and ventilated as his body struggles for the oxygen that have been stolen from him by his goddamned virus.
It is enough to be troubled by the issues surrounding us. This is heaping a heart breaking weight even on the strongest of souls.
I'll get through this sleepless night in the company of whiskey, a sky at long last clear of smoke and absolutely ablaze with stars, and people who will sing beautifully to me. I promise to go light on the whiskey and heavy on the starlight and music.