Sleepless in Seattle

One could likely name any city around the world and discover that sleeplessness is on the rise.  In this day (or, more appropriately, night) of stress and anxiety and paranoia, there are times when I lie awake and wish to be dreaming.  So here's a quasi-hopeful remedy I've learned to employ.

I begin with the letter "A" and think up a new line for every letter of the alphabet.  Study the list, Reader Dear.  I know  you're going to  quickly spot the pattern that leads me to (semi-peaceful) slumber (I've got to admit, luck is also involved).






Alice ate avocados in Asheville.
Betty bakes bread in Buffalo.
Carol cooks chocolate chip cookies in Cooperstown  (yes, yes, Dear Reader, I'm well aware that usually the term for  cookie-making  is "baking";  I give myself a lot of leeway when making my list).
Dorothy downs doughnuts in Denver.
Edna eats elderberries in Evergreen.
Franny favors fruit in Fort Eustis.
Grace gorges on grapes in Greenville.
Heidi helps herself to hefty helpings of ham in Houston.
Ilsa ingests ice cream in Indianapolis.
And on and on...

Do you get my drift?

Keep in mind there are so many ways to vary your list, Dear One, should you choose to concoct one yourself as you strive to drift off to sleep.

Augustina acts as an activist in Athens.
Babette begins to beguile in Barcelona.
Carolina changes course in Constantinople.
Diana designs her day in Dusseldorf
Ellianna enjoys entertaining in Edinburgh.
Francesca fancies frittering away time in Florence.
And on and on...

Several notes:
*I've learned it's easier to stick with "women's" names; there's far more variety. **
**In this somewhat conservative area in which I live, roughly every fifth man is named John [strictly my own statistic, pulled directly from my head (from whence the list, not to mention this very blog post, is springing).
***Give yourself a lot of leniency if you come to that wished-for swimming-off point around U-V-W. You really don't want to get to "X" without feeling that Xavier would be fine as a gender-neutral name.

***As a precaution, it's helpful to have new categories lined up just in case you should manage to eke out a list of 26 lines and still feel wide awake.  (Countries, cities, activities, species of animal or bird, to name a few).

*****

 Sweet dreams, Reader Dear!

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****Hmm,  I've never tried "life-threatening ailments" as a category, Dear One.  If you wish to do so now,  however,  think how you've got one more choice than ever before (Camilla coughed and coughed with COVID-19 ) Yikes.  I don't recommend this category if you're looking to banish paranoia!