i called (texted) around last night, but no one was available.
so i took my camera and went off into the night
to see where it would take me.
i left partly to drive around, well mostly to drive around.
and partly to bring back some proof that i had been somewhere.
i feel it in my bones.
i parked and put on my sweater, the black sparkly one.
i grabbed my camera and slowly walked out to the end of the pier.
when i was walking out to the end of the pier i thought to myself...
when i have my camera in my hand i don't feel strange being out in public by myself.
i don't need to talk to anyone.
i can't do it alone.
when i got there i looked around for a good picture and set up.
i took several long exposures
and the time drifted slowly by
like the moon does on a warm summer night, without much notice.
wisdom is a gift, but you trade it for youth
the breeze blew and the fishermen fished,
the moon stood it's lonely watch
and all around me
people were out on the shores under the slight cover of night
some shared embraces which they thought only they were sharing
some stood alone under the glow of a lamp and stared out into the sea
looking for an end to the train of thoughts that a night like this brings.
we saw the stars when they hid from the world
after enough thoughts had passed i grabbed my stuff and walked
about halfway down i stopped to take pictures of the tower on the sand.
i have a certain affinity for lifeguard towers.
ever since we spent a night out on #6 all those years ago.
as i was taking my exposures i noticed a light flashing in the distance
earlier i thought it was signaling me, but i must have been crazy.
but now i was sure.
so i got out my phone and turned on the flashlight feature.
the light doesn't exactly flash, so i would cover it with my finger to simulate flashing
and in the distance, near the tower, the other light replied.
(it reminded me of when i was in okinawa and the hurricanes
would knock out the power to the barracks.
one night i remember getting out my flashlight to screw around with.
i flashed it at the barracks across the parking lot from us.
after some time we got a reply.
and we went back and forth like that until almost every window
in the barracks was sending signals through the dark stormy night.)
i can still see them huddled on astor
when the other light started signaling back to me
i found myself smiling and even laughing a bit to myself
out in the ocean breeze
then i decided to stop before i looked like a weirdo.
so i walked back to my car and waited a bit for my window to defrost.
the truth is she doesn't need me to protect her
i turned on the music.
loud.
and i drove in the opposite direction of home.
a bit tired, but i still had promises to keep
and miles to go before i slept.
(click the picture to see them full size.)
the city of long beach with a rainbow arc in the sky
a wider view of the coast
the houses and shore of seal beach
the city looked like it was burning from where i was
turning the camera to face a crowded pier makes people
look at you like you're strange
this one has a name. it's called "two".
the reason i took this one was because of the two people sitting
on the border of the parking lot, sharing a moment together.
i could only imagine what they were talking about from my silent observation point.
one of those 'pay' observation scopes aimed at the apartment building. ha.
i was walking back when i saw a good picture here. so i got down to the level of the
benches and snapped a few. i like this one best.
self-portrait.
the tower. under it are two people in an embrace... the quiet things that no one ever knows
are caught forever in this picture.
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