A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Hello, and welcome to my new podcast. This is the first episode of “Little Bibliophile,” the podcast where I read you short stories of my choosing. It's close to one in the morning on December 2nd, 2010, which is appropriate, because my next story is about another insomniac. It is called “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” by Ernest Hemingway. My goal in this podcast is to chose stories that I can identify with, stories that have some meaning for me personally. I love this story, in particular, because I have had many, many late nights, and early mornings, where I really have no idea why I am still awake. I am exhausted. I have nothing important to do, just TV shows to watch, or a book to read, if I'm lucky enough to have that much functioning brain power. But, like the older waiter in this selection, I still need to stay awake. I don't know if it's an itch I need to scratch, or if there's some meaning that I'm waiting for, but I am compelled to keep away from sleep. I've heard that insomnia is common for people similar to me – namely, fellow students of literature. Maybe you can tell me sometime. And here is: “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”