You know, I belong to the school of people who don’t speak ill of the dead. Sometimes I will note the passing of people who I think were great in some regard, or whom I’ll miss, or whose passing I think diminishes us all. None of these things apply to Augusto Pinochet, who died yesterday. I shall make an exception now, and speak ill. This will seem unkind of me, and that’s because it is, but good riddance. The world doesn’t need you, nor dictators of any stripe.
I tried waking myself up. Rather, I tried letting myself I would need to wake up soon, because it was almost time. I didn’t feel all panicky when I couldn’t move, and eventually, what felt like not long after, I did wake up. I told myself, “See? You can’t stay asleep forever, no matter what. You always wake up eventually.”