All One River GIS

Never take your pillow for granted. I used to think the Greens Creek Mine had the worst company pillows (shredded foam left over from the Russians, I’m sure), that is until I started working in Ghana. Even in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, the Mexican cots in Phelps Dodge camp shacks had supportive, malleable pillows to cradle your bean. Pillows were LOVELY in Peru at BHP’s Tintaya Mine. In Ghana, from mine to mine, if there IS a pillow, it is merely an artificial replicate of a pillow, as if the staff saw one in a picture and tried to recreate it but had no concept of what a pillow is supposed to do. One evening, I ventured into the racket club at Adikanfo and was welcomed to sit at the table of a Ghanaian who knew me from the mine. In this casual setting, he felt at ease enough to ask,

“What is the issue with the Brunie (white person) and their pillows?”

We were well into the mid-point of a bottle of some amber-colored drink in the category of scotch, and I started to tell him in a rambling explanation about something that had to do with a mother’s breast and the safe haven of sleep and the sand man, but he was already way not following me. Most Ghanaians do not use pillows, so why would they know about the degree of poofiness, and softness, and firmness all tied together, let alone temperature, smell, color, and fabric? Even when I bought a high-end pillow in the market, it was so round and full that it bent my head back on my neck. It didn’t even dent when I punched it.

I recently asked some other geos living and working in other countries to provide their take on pillows at mines all over the world. Here is what I got:

“Funny you should ask - in June I used a rice sack full of broken, old ramen noodles a sheepherder left in the shack where we slept. Of course, I put my jacket over it. The rodents would run right over us at night. This was in the Tien Shan Mountains of Xinjiang, China. I am sure I could think of other horrid pillow stories in time. I’ll let ya know.” — Dean Misantoni

“Can’t help with your company pillow project. Can’t remember ever getting a field pillow from a company and in more recent years (which I CAN remember), I usually take a new pillow with me because of the drool.” — John Ducette. (Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, Sawayaerdun Project, Majestic Gold Corp.)

“Pillow lavas? Basalts? Or a REAL pillow like the one I sleep on?” — LJ Brock, Burkina Faso (was once brought to his senses by a murmuring chicken…)

“Worse pillow story? That would be the fat, stinky guy sitting next to me on the plane.” –Karen R. Christopherson

“My pillow? Well, the bedding in kazakhstan is not too my liking. The pillows are foam-filled and square. The sheets? Never fit the bed! So, (being a bit of a tosser-and-turner in bed) I always wake up with the sheet and pillow on the floor.” — Simon J Apps

“My most recent trip was to the Moctezuma in northern Sonora. I stayed in a couple of different motels — pillows were decent, not too fat. My rule of thumb is the more expensive the hotel, the fatter the pillows. I like nice hotels, so I travel with my own pillow. However, my travel pillow is now getting too thin. I am going to have to break in a new one.” — Ken Shonk

“Hi Michele: I agree with Ken that a fat pillow is undesirable. I can’t afford the emotional risk not to have a suitable pillow, so I always carry mine with me wherever I travel. I am more prepared to do without a clean change of clothes than survive a night with a second rate pillow. I acquired my pillow while working in Goldfield, NV, in 1985. It came with the the partially furnished trailer that I lived in at that time. It has seen better days, the down has broken down and forms large clumps that need to be “worked out”. Due to its deteriorated nature, I can form it into a perfect wedge that supports my head just right. The pillow retains precisely the shape of my head and is ready to go again next day! When I travel to remote areas where space and dryness may be limited, I employ a folded fleece jacket so as to not risk damaging in any way my old pal of more than 20 years. I applaud Ken’s bravery, resigning himself to the reality that the time is coming to find a replacement. Not me. I choose to harbor false hope that my pillow has many many more good years left to brilliantly serve my sleeping needs.” — Pete Boies

“When we go out fly camping in Western Eritrea, we come across these small groups of beds, usually up in the hills. They were used by the Eritrean fighters during the Liberation Struggle and even now by military patrols. We use them since the sheets don’t need changing. The guys who use them a lot are really tough. Their turbans (a thin sheet of cotton) doubles as mattress and blanket. During the winter it gets really cold at night. We have the luxury of sleeping bags and pads. I usually dispense with the rock pillow and substitute my boots inside the the bag sack. The locals only have plastic sandals which they don’t take off and no sleeping bag sacks to put them in.” — Demitrius Pohl