I met a man who lived in an isolated house outside of Austin, Texas. The house was ancient and mostly original. No indoor plumbing but he did have electricity and a 500-gallon water tank. Surrounding the large wooded acreage where the house sat was every convenience known to modern man. He had built an outdoor stage on the property and some weekends he would have two or three bands playing which drew people he did not know. Being alone and isolated, yet surrounded by civilization, the man knew he was vulnerable to trespassers, some of whom may not have good intentions towards him. For that reason, he never slept soundly and was always alert to unusual noises. Finally, he had enough. He was tired of being tired.

His solution was to build his bed on top of his closet. It was true anyone could easily gain access to the house. It was also true that smaller critters had been gaining access to the house right along, coming and going at will. That made putting the bed on top of a closet an even better idea. He first had to build the closet. The original closet was three nails, hammered into the wall by the original owner. He built a closet with a sturdy top that stopped about 5 feet from the 12-foot ceiling. He extended the two closet ends above the top into slatted walls that went all the way to the ceiling. It sounded like a sleeper berth on a train to me.

He said he got the idea from the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh’s who were the first to build sleeping platforms off the floor. They probably were fed up with desert creepy crawlies snuggling up inside their togas. So now, the guy has a secluded bed, high off the floor, where nobody could see him. However, he could see anybody inside the house. He had built a perfect recessed platform but not given a thought to a mattress. The bed space, sized for a twin size memory foam mattress, did not have the depth for a box spring. Memory foam, of course, was the best choice. He was more comfortable than he had ever been. He could allow himself to sleep soundly knowing if anyone trespassed, he would see them before they saw him.

It takes all kinds to make a great music festival.

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