The Captain Stream House, Oysterville

     As I age, I occasionally have trouble falling asleep at night.  When that happens, I usually get up, fix myself a cup of tea, and go to work for awhile on whatever my current writing project might be.  Last night, however, I felt too lazy to get my bones out of bed so I decided to try the traditional method of getting to sleep – counting something.
     I’m not sure why sheep have become the stereotypical objects to count.  Probably because they all look alike and, theoretically, you bore yourself into dreamland.  But on the occasions I’ve tried sheep, it never has worked, so last night I decided to count houses – and very specific houses, at that.  I counted houses on the peninsula that I’ve actually been inside of.
     I began with Oysterville.  I traveled up the street, around the cannery loop, and out toward the ocean.  Thirty-one!  That’s all the houses in Oysterville.  I’ve been in each at some time in my life.
     I continued out toward the beach, taking in Skating Lake Road, Stackpole Road, and traveling up and down the streets of Surfside.  Forty-six.  By the time I had gone through Ocean Park and back through Nahcotta, I was in the seventies and still wide awake.  So I went on through Sunset Sands, Klipsan, Long Beach, Seaview, Ilwaco, up Sahalee Hill, out around Vandalia, through Chinook and McGowan.  I was in the 150s but beginning to lose track.
     By then, random houses that I had missed were occurring to me and I was considering starting over.  Also, a little corner of my mind was wondering if this amounted to a lot or was it an average amount.  For sure, if you were a plumber or an electrician, the number would be many times that total …
     And that’s about where I checked out.  This morning I’m still at it, not counting now, but people I’ve know and their houses are still popping into my mind.  I like it.  I think I’m onto something…