Sleeping In The Park

D

Damaged Goods

Member
Location
Maryland
On hot and muggy nights, especially in neighborhoods that were 100% asphalt and concrete, many people would sleep in the park. Window fans were rare and A/C non-existent in most of those neighborhoods. Cops wouldn't hassle them knowing that they went there to sleep, not to party or litter.

The park in my grandparents' neighborhood had public bathrooms but it must've been difficult navigating to and from without stepping on someone because the city was not as illuminated as is the case today.

Recall visiting my grandparents, sitting on their front steps, and watching the people march down the sidewalk to the park. Some who hated sleeping on the ground carried foldable, aluminum loungers but most were armed only with a blanket and pillows.

Early next morning they'd return home to begin their day. Estimate that this practice stopped in the late 50's as more window fans appeared.

I guess homeless sleep in parks today along with those in that city who have been murdered and dumped.
 

When I was a kid we spent those hot muggy nights in a tent made from an old bedsheet.
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Today technology has crept in and replaced the bedsheet tents with backyard movie night.
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The most important thing hasn't changed and that's the time families spend together.
 
We never had window fans in our home (my childhood home), yet I don't remember struggling to sleep at night, no matter how hot it was.

I remember having sleepovers at neighbourhood friends places, where we would settle in for the night in a ground tent or tent trailer, and that was always nice, but overall I don't remember being effected by the heat.
 

Well you can't sleep in the park here, the cops patrol some of them and there are always snitches that say someone is there. When I was a kid I don't remember suffering too much for the heat in the summer - I swear we didn't have the humidity that we do today. Could be because I am older and feel the heat more but I have lost some weight and don't feel the heat as much now. How I remember when I worked and climbing on my chair in the morning (I was there before everyone else) and lowering the damn thermostat to a cooler temp. Sigh...sure don't miss that anymore.
 
Aunt Marg said:
We never had window fans in our home (my childhood home), yet I don't remember struggling to sleep at night, no matter how hot it was.

I remember having sleepovers at neighbourhood friends places, where we would settle in for the night in a ground tent or tent trailer, and that was always nice, but overall I don't remember being effected by the heat.
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Could be because your July avg. high temp was 13C. 🤔
 
Was never hot enough in Scotland when I was growing up for the need to sleep outside... but here in the South East of England, it gets plenty hot enough in summer, and if anyone wanted to sleep out here in the rural shires, there's enough fields for them to do it and be safe...... however I'm sure those in London and the larger towns and cities do have people sleeping outside somewhere when it's very hot at night.. and probably not very safe to do so either
 
The last time I slept in a park was when I was drunk out of my mind and just lay where I happened to be. I awoke the next morning and I happened to be at a bus stop luckily, so I got up and stood with the others and took the bus home. I should be embarrassed to relate the story, but I'm doing penance for being such a dumb-ass when I was much younger.
 
Damaged Goods said:
On hot and muggy nights, especially in neighborhoods that were 100% asphalt and concrete, many people would sleep in the park. Window fans were rare and A/C non-existent in most of those neighborhoods. Cops wouldn't hassle them knowing that they went there to sleep, not to party or litter.

The park in my grandparents' neighborhood had public bathrooms but it must've been difficult navigating to and from without stepping on someone because the city was not as illuminated as is the case today.

Recall visiting my grandparents, sitting on their front steps, and watching the people march down the sidewalk to the park. Some who hated sleeping on the ground carried foldable, aluminum loungers but most were armed only with a blanket and pillows.

Early next morning they'd return home to begin their day. Estimate that this practice stopped in the late 50's as more window fans appeared.

I guess homeless sleep in parks today along with those in that city who have been murdered and dumped.
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Damaged Goods: Are you a writer? i wasn't so enamoured with the content as the WAY you wrote this post! if you are not a writer, shouldn't you begin? You have an intriguing way with words!

About sleeping outside, You can bet next Summer, i'm buying a sleeping bag and will sleep many nights under the stars!
No bugs at all here last Summer!
A big, bearded hunky man to snuggle with could be quite interesting though!
Oh! I'm gonna hear from Marg for saying that!
 
hen the last hurricane struck directly at Houston the power was out for days for me to many weeks for others. Some of my neighbors slept in their vehicles because they had AC. I never had AC until I was in my early 20s so as unpleasant as it was I could not bring myself to bitch. As long as you know it is not permanent that is a large part of the battle. Bottom line is we are so spoiled when you think back to the days of few or no modern conveniences.
 
Damaged Goods said:
On hot and muggy nights, especially in neighborhoods that were 100% asphalt and concrete, many people would sleep in the park. Window fans were rare and A/C non-existent in most of those neighborhoods. Cops wouldn't hassle them knowing that they went there to sleep, not to party or litter.

The park in my grandparents' neighborhood had public bathrooms but it must've been difficult navigating to and from without stepping on someone because the city was not as illuminated as is the case today.

Recall visiting my grandparents, sitting on their front steps, and watching the people march down the sidewalk to the park. Some who hated sleeping on the ground carried foldable, aluminum loungers but most were armed only with a blanket and pillows.

Early next morning they'd return home to begin their day. Estimate that this practice stopped in the late 50's as more window fans appeared.

I guess homeless sleep in parks today along with those in that city who have been murdered and dumped.
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Many people sleep in their front yards during Utah summers, some sleep in the back, a few people have tents, but it’s not uncommon to see people sleeping on the lawns of businesses during their lunch hour. Including government buildings. It’s not unusual here at all.
 
Gaer said:
Damaged Goods: Are you a writer? i wasn't so enamoured with the content as the WAY you wrote this post! if you are not a writer, shouldn't you begin? You have an intriguing way with words!

About sleeping outside, You can bet next Summer, i'm buying a sleeping bag and will sleep many nights under the stars!
No bugs at all here last Summer!
A big, bearded hunky man to snuggle with could be quite interesting though!
Oh! I'm gonna hear from Marg for saying that!
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Thank you for the kind words, Ms. Gaer. For 23 of the 30 years as a fed bureaucrat, I was on the staff that wrote rules and regulations for the SSDI program. Fed disability rules and regs are a conglomeration of stodgy medical legalese, nothing that would inspire an aspiring writer.

If anyone here is creative and artistic, it's the sculptress to whom I'm addressing.
 

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