By LEONARD GRAY

I’ve never quite understood why some people have trouble sleeping. I tend to sleep like a baby or, as I usually put it, the sleep of the innocent.

Back when I was a kid, I slept very little, because my mind was constantly in action, and I always felt I’d miss something by sleeping through it. So, I stayed up late every night, sometimes listening to the radio well into the night.

When I was a teen-ager, I received a Sears short-wave radio receiver and would sit up into the wee hours, listening to BBC or Quito, Ecuador, or Radio Moscow or Voice of America.

I still sit up late at night now, surfing the internet, and habitually sleep five to six hours every night.

My wife is one of those people who habitually does not sleep well at night. I worry about her sometimes, but she insists she does get her rest.

However, I’m one of those disgusting people who, when my head hits the pillow, goes out like a light within five minutes.

I tell people I trained myself back in college to do that, just to be able to get some rest for my college classes. I’m aware, though, that just doesn’t work for most people.

To me, sleeping is a genuine pleasure, easily slipped into and a wrench to leave. I enjoy my dreams and even get story ideas from there.

But I still feel I’m missing something.

LEONARD GRAY is assistant managing editor of L’Observateur. He may be reached at (985) 652-9545.