As mentioned several times earlier in this log, I am an expert at sleeping. I got so good at it during my years on the battlefield when opportunities for rest were rare and brief. I learned to grab whatever sleep I could in moments of safety along with the ability to spring back to alertness instantly if danger appeared. As a result, yawning, usually described as a mostly involuntary action, became for me an intentional act designed to bring on sleep.
Yawning is defined as the opening of the mouth and breathing in deeply, filling the lungs with air. It’s normally triggered by sleepiness or fatigue. Some yawns are short, and some last for several seconds before an open-mouthed exhale.
I’m as good at squelching a yawn as I am at inducing one. These days, now that I am an old man, I often sleep nine or ten hours each night and take a nap each afternoon. So when I am deprived of my habitual sleep, I am constantly threatened with insulting others by yawning in the middle of social interactions. I have trained myself to remain alert for an oncoming yawn and stopping it in its tracks.
I am justifiably proud of my history of assisting friendly troops on the battlefield. I take pride in my six published books and my ability to spellbind an audience with my presentations and readings. Not included among my accomplishments in which I take pleasure is my ability to suppress yawns. In fact, I try to keep that achievement a secret.
I trust that my readership will assist me in suppressing observations of that bit of behavior.
Tom Glenn, Writer 