Play Fighters

A warm, sunny Saturday on the heels of some hard weeks at work, I found myself in an escape route from man, dogs, and all the noise of the world. The good people of Long Beach would mostly likely blanket themselves across the shoreline, their children running, screaming, and kicking sand on all who had hopelessly come for the sounds of waves crashing. I knew better than to hope for recluse at the beach.
Better to blanket myself on the cool grass in a park, under decades old trees pretending to be in a forest. There is peace in El Dorado Park, near the golf course, tucked away from children's ballparks and their barking terriers.
There is shade, grass, wind in the leaves far above, and there is a view of picnickers and barbequing parties - just far away enough for their noise to feel like a murmur, but close enough (or perhaps, just downwind) to taste their food on an inhale. Starving artists do not usually enjoy the smells of food they cannot provide for themselves, but at that moment it was welcome in the form of a tell-tale sign of the season.
I wrote in my journal about the various things I should be writing about but am not. I read two Bradbury short stories. I people-watched. The latter was my favorite.
A  man & a woman left a party they were gathered at, walking side by side, talking casually. At a moment, they looked at each other sharply, broke apart, putting about three feet between them, laughing. Simultaneously, they both raised their fists, elbows bent sharply, and hopped around each other like defensive kangaroos. Still laughing, they began sparring, tapping each other instead of a punch, until they were so drunk with laughter they couldn't hop, or even hold their fists up.
They collapsed upon one another, each holding the other up.
With arms wrapped around on another, they walked on, laughing and laughing and laughing.
I couldn't hear the laughter, though. I strained my hearing, told myself to focus for the sound, but could not hear the laughter for my life. I could only see it.
Whereas only seconds earlier, I had been happy and at peace, in that moment I was incredibly alone and silent and hungry.