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                   I remember the last time I was cautioned by my landlady for walking to take a pee with my pillows and blankets at hand, that was the moment when I finally woke up and realized I was actually sleepwalking. I was on grade 5 then studying away from home. I couldn’t recall what I had been dreaming but sure enoughed I managed to come back to wakefulness when my landlady was amazed why am I supposed to bring my pillow and blanket to take a pee.

                    Last night, my attention was called upon by the news regarding a man who was acquitted for killing his wife while asleep (details on http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/nov/20/brian-thomas-dream-strangler-tragedy). In the light of that issue, having my own experience as an early sign of the sleep disorder, I’m just thankful of course that my crime was only to carry my pillow and blanket without my knowing and nothing more horrendous.

                  As had been learned from the past experiences of these people having this sleep disorder in the advanced stage, things could have been averted if medical attention was sought earlier. Imagine one unsuspecting recruit with this type of disorder to have been cleared to join the military and you have one ticking bomb waiting to explode at a moment’s sleep. Consider this recruit turned private deployed on the battlefield having served his tour of duty and about to take his sleep. Well you may have heard that old tale about a soldier marrying his rifle for his wife on “Full Metal Jacket”. The thing is he is actually sleeping with many “wives” on the battlefield. There should be his standard issued M4/M16 rifle with 180 rounds ball ammunition, an M60 LMG with loads/slings of ammos, fragmentation grenades and so forth. Now you could just imagine while they have all eyes behind enemy lines and one of their own strikes from within.

                 The case simply opens up a startling possibility of acquittal from the same crime in the near future. If James Bond had been touted as “Licensed to Kill”, one should be extra cautious for people with this kind of sleeping disorder because they are licensed to kill while asleep. Now these people will be moving through our world like “secret agents” because we don’t have the slightest hint who has this disorder until they could inflict serious injury or kill somebody and wake up to it afterwards. Anything could happen to somebody, or anybody while asleep. So in the grand issue this involves us all who sleep, because when we close our eyes, we couldn’t tell. I suppose it pays to pray before bed. It’s not that most of us were old boys and girls already that we shouldn’t but we may need extra strength of spirit to reconcile our senses with the reality we have to accept around us when we wake up.