Sunday, October 21, 2007

Parking Lots I've Slept In

Place: Southtown Mall parking lot, Bloomington, MN
Time: June 1986
Car: 1977 AMC Hornet or 1984 Mazda GLC, not sure which one
Context: I had just spent the night in the hospital, having taken my friend John there after a fast-closing parking structure stairway door mangled his hand. After his release, we had breakfast (along with John #2 and Lynn) at Perkin's. As I was driving home from dropping Lynn off in Richfield, I felt tired. I parked my car in the Southtown lot and slept for an hour or so. I'm amazed I didn't just drive home. I only lived 10 minutes away.

Place: Hard Rock Hotel/Casino parking lot, Las Vegas
Time: October 2004
Car: 2000 Toyota Camry
Context: I was driving from Los Angeles to some godforsaken town in the middle of Arizona. On the way there, I stopped in Las Vegas with the intention of spending the night in a hotel. Instead, I gambled for a few hours and, realizing the sun was about tome up, I decided to just sleep in the car instead. As I drove out of the lot, I listened to Stay Loose by Belle & Sebastian. Over and over again.

Place: Gas station/truck stop parking lot, central Iowa, off of I-80
Time: May 2006
Car: 2006 Saturn VUE
Context: My cousin Sharif and I were driving from San Francisco to Chicago. We were tired. There were three cats in the car, so sleeping in the rented SUV was better than traumatizing the cats with a motel room. It was hot. Humid. I don't remember how long I was asleep. Maybe 15 minutes. Maybe 2 hours.

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