So 'round about 5 o'clock, I headed out to the hill. I decided this would be a great chance to finally do some real nude driving. So I carried my clothes to the car, with my camera equipment (in that bag again), with a towel to sit on and a blanket to keep me warm (on the hill). Then I drove over to the park completely naked. It was pretty cool. I have come to the conclusion that people really don't notice drivers much, so the risk of driving nude, albeit still a risk, is smaller than you would imagine. Even during the day, pedestrians tend to see the car itself and completely ignore the driver. But certainly at night, sitting behind the shield of blinding headlights makes you practically invisible.
I was hoping for the park to be empty, and I got my wish. It was already starting to get light, so I didn't waste any time getting to the top of the hill. I left my clothes in the car, and went up with just the bag of camera equipment and towel, and the blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I was also wearing sandals, which wouldn't have been necessary in the grass, except that the dew was very cold. I set up my stuff at the crest of the hill, and then cycled between taking a few shots and just hanging out.
The sun kind of took its time to come out. I walked around a bit, wrapped in the blanket and wearing the sandals - both for warmth - on a circular path that wove around the hill. I thought to myself about how nice it would be to walk those paths on a warm night, completely naked and protected by the veil of shadow. The problem with that is that I'd feel very self-concious driving into the park in the middle of the night. At least for the sunrise, I had a good, easily understandable reason for being there.
By the time I wandered back up to the top of the hill, the sun had broke the horizon, so I took a bunch more shots and generally got wetter in the grass. I think the paths must have recently been mowed, because there seemed to be a lot of grass clippings lying about, and the grass did an amazing job of painting itself all over my feet and shins, and knees, and wherever else I made contact with the grass. The one towel I brought was hardly enough to keep me dry. I endured the cold damp, and to be honest, it wasn't that terrible. Really not more than a minor inconvenience.
I didn't linger long after the sun had left the horizon, as it was getting brighter and brighter, and more people were waking up across the land (I could just tell), and I wanted to try to a) get out of the park before any early-risers showed up for morning exercise or something, and b) get home before anybody in the house got up so I could avoid having to make explanations or whatever. There were still no people to be seen or heard when I made it back down the hill to the car, so I actually took a couple more shots, and took my time shaking off the grass and getting myself dry enough to get dressed. It was nice and laidback. I actually drove home barefoot, because the sandals were ridiculously grassy and I just couldn't clean them off with the tools I had at hand.
That's about the end of the story. I got home while the house was still quiet, and it took me some time to clean up. I really like the pictures I got, and the experience was totally worth it! If only (my?) life was filled with more things like this. I really can't stand my self-concious anxieties. They're what keeps me from doing things like this more often. But the only reason I listen to them is because of fear, and fear is my captor. There's this commercial where this guy talks about how great his life is, and he says "there are no obstacles to achieving your dreams", and then he immediately contradicts himself by saying "and if there are obstacles, you knock them down." But everytime I hear him say this, I can't help saying to myself, "this guy's obviously never been in a situation where he's had to bang his head against a brick wall (figuratively speaking), to no avail."
"Some are born to sweet delight; some are born to endless night."
I like your light & shade combo
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