Do You Sleep in the Nude?

I remember well back in 1969 when Rex Reed brought out his book, Do You Sleep in the Nude? It was a collection of interviews he’d done with celebrities. I was intrigued not by the content but by the title because I always sleep in the nude.

I got started in Vietnam during the war. I was there as a civilian under cover as military providing signals intelligence support to army and Marine units in combat. Between 1962 and 1975, I spent more time in Vietnam than I did in the U.S. Due to the heat of the tropical climate, we Americans wore as little as possible, perennially running around in nothing but shorts. And when we slept at night, we wore nothing at all in hopes of being able to get some rest despite the heat. I got so good at it that the hot weather seemed normal to me. When I got back to the states, I was uncomfortably cool, even at the height of the summer weather. Nevertheless, I went on sleeping in the nude, piling on covers to keep me warm.

The wild life I have lived has blessed—or cursed—me with strange habits, everything from keeping a daily blog to becoming a semi-vegetarian eating only two meals a day stressing various combinations of beans and split peas. I am a health nut, going out of my way to extend my life—my goal is to live well past a hundred. In the midst of all that, sleeping naked seems normal.

I see no reason to change.