I was leaning....

....against the railing of the beach house. It was a cool summer morning and the sky was just starting to lighten with a promise of a beautiful sunrise. Beer cans and drink cups were strewn about from the all night party. There wasn't any sound other than the gentle lapping of the waves against the sandy beach. The rhythmic hiss of all the sand and shell particles slowly grinding together was soothing in a primal way. Internally I commented to myself "Even the sea gulls are still sleeping" and smiled.

  The sky had taken on the amazing tapestry of vivid colors that make staying up all night so worth seeing.

 I grabbed an ice cold beer from the cooler to celebrate the fact that I had stayed up and watched such a wonderful beginning to the day. One that has happened for eons and has been watched by countless species for as long as there has been life on this planet. There were distant voices from inside from others that had stayed up all night as well.

  Suddenly a huge flash lit everything like giant flash bulb going off.  The source was behind me.....


 

   I slowly turned to see what the hell was going on.

 The mushroom cloud was already forming in the distance. The dark, angry, fire filled plume was rushing skyward and the head rolled out in a perfect circular arc. Everything was silent. 
 The other's from inside came out onto the deck to stand in awe. They were just shadows in my peripheral vision.

"Well, it looks like they got Boston" I said out loud to no one in particular. Then I took a sip of my beer and started thinking of how I was going to escape......

Rising out of that dream, I rolled over and cracked an eye. It was still dark so I picked up my cell phone and looked at the time.

4:19 am....  I'll be in bed early tonight I guess.