Sleeping in Airports blog

Indiscreet Eye….., originally uploaded by rogilde.

Thanks to Margaret Catherine for this fun read!

“Man is the sum of his appetites: what has conventionally been termed free will is but the expression of those. He should nay, must be permitted to do as he likes, when he likes, where he likes. Any other state of affairs is in direct contradiction to observed human nature, and is psychologically unhealthy.* It is, therefore, the role of society and government to enable the fulfillment of fundamental appetites in a manner as comfortable and safe as possible. While European governments are demonstrably ahead of America in this regard, there remains work to be done. There must be removed that lingering inequality by which a mere portion of the populace enjoys full privileges to the envy and resentment of the rest.

In light of this, Rome-Fiumicino airport must remove and replace all benches that have armrests, not only half, so that everyone who wishes to may stretch out and sleep. Additionally, those seeking to sleep on the window ledges beneath the air-conditioning returns must be provided with blankets. Special requests arising from the fact that one’s ledgemate is not sleeping, but rather sleeping it off, must also be accommodated. (Noisy escalator repairmen and Internet kiosks that eat your money are transitory matters, and will not be further addressed herein.) While the proffered recourse to a 24-hour cafe is appreciated, it ultimately is as weak and inadequate a substitute as the caffe latte on hand there.

In sum, the true desire of all those remaining overnight in Fiumicino is to sleep. While some manage this, a disheartening proportion enjoy no success.

Penned by Margaret Catherine
The 30th day of April, 2009
3:30 am

*Symptoms of psychological imbalance resulting from enforced insomnia include auditory hallucinations of ‘Funkytown’ at 3:00 am. The Italian love of American 80’s music, however, is a subject for another time.”

Read more about Rome Fiumicino airport.