8-28 Back in heaven, cafe intimacy, aliens on beach?

Woke up with a hung-over feeling even though I didn’t drink anything flammable. Neck is sore, must have slept on it wrong hence that head-achy-sore feeling.

And then I must have somehow twisted my ankle while packing up camp to move on so I’m limping like a frog around camp.

Aahh, the travails of a somewhat rugged lifestyle and a teeny tiny bit of aging…

At a local coffee shop (copious amounts of coffee always makes my headache go away) there was a middle aged couple near me engaged in intense eye-to-eye conversation (one I didn’t lip-read out of respect for their privacy).

When their conversation finished, both stood, embraced and held each other for a very long time in full view of all in the cafe.

Reconciliation? Or a sharing of deep wounds? Or maybe on the proper way to brew coffee?

Whatever the topic might have been, it was endearing and refreshing to see that kind of intimacy on full display. It is rarer to see these days.

After the fog lifted from my mind I decide to go ahead on over to Land Between the Lakes national recreation area for a few days of camping.

Much to my delight I found a beautiful and private primitive campsite right on the water at Nickell Branch backcountry camping area.

Steady cool breezes, wide views of the coast and serene waters.

No electricity, no water, no neighbors — just the way I like it. I’m in a slice of heaven yet again.

A nicely-dressed family pull up to the nearby boat ramp/beach with a professional photographer in tow (the excessive and heavy camera equipment gives it away) for what looks like a sunset family portrait session.

Seeing them brings back memories of often seeing the same thing on the beaches in Sarasota, Florida where I grew up.

Watching this family with their two kids frolic and pose in front of a hovering photographer, my mind begins to drift into their lives…

Are they indeed that joyfully picturesque sun-splashed family they’re portraying themselves to be?

Or when home do they siphon off into separate corners with phones and computers glued to their glowing faces? Do they argue often? Do they have dark secrets within?

Or are they the face of love represented vividly on the beach with lots of joy and soldiering on through life resolutely?

Or they’re aliens from a different plane masquerading as humans and enjoying themselves on a side-trip away from civilization with photos to send to home base in another galaxy?

Oh such a silly and sometimes sinister imagination I have.

Whatever they might be, a few minutes later as the last rays of the sun fade and cameras put away, their facade drops, charade ended as they pile into their Ford Expedition and fade out too.