Watercolor

We have been at the most beautiful beach this past week. I think I must have taken twenty photos that all look like this…
The water was so clear you could see the fish swimming around your feet. And for those individuals like myself who worry about sharks and jelly fish and barracudas and sea weed, the clear water was rather comforting!

This beach was also great for playing football with your buddies, especially when one of them turns out to be the son of the New Orleans Saints head coach. You never know who you might meet on the beach these days.
Actually, at this place people are extremely nice. You end up talking to the families sitting around you and almost always find out you know someone or have something in common. In this instance, the Senator’s son had been playing in the ocean and on the beach with a group of boys.

When all of a sudden, these dark clouds moved in and it started raining. Not the drizzly, sprinkling kind of rain, but a torrential downpour.

As we scrambled to gather our things and relocate, we noticed the Senator’s son had gone inside a very nice home with the boys he had been playing with on the beach.

Great. I never just let my children go inside a strangers home, especially when they are wet and covered with sand, really, I don’t. But, there we were discussing what the best plan of action would be in the pouring down rain and I had lost total control over the situation.

Then, out of nowhere appears this very nice lady who asked if we might want to continue our conversation on her porch. The Senator seized the opportunity because he had finally realized that it was actually raining outside and sitting on the beach in hurricane like conditions was no longer enjoyable.

So we did relocate to her porch and out of the rain, which at this time was a moot point because we were thoroughly soaking wet. But as we sat and talked with our kind hostess we found out that she had lived in many, many places the most recent being New Orleans. This prompted the Senator to ask what her husband did for a living to have moved around so many times because he is just curious like that….and that is how we found out he was the head coach for the New Orleans Saints.

The Senator was now a little star struck. Probably a good time to claim our son and exit this nice porch. But, no the Senator pressed on only to learn that this cute family had hosted Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson the week before we arrived. I could tell he was bummed he missed that on the beach.

Not to impose on her kind hospitality, I attempted to pluck the Senator off her porch and grab the Senator’s son even though you could hear the boy’s laughing and having a marvelous time inside. She kept offering to let the Senator’s son stay because it was obvious they were having fun and her husband was bringing back lunch. So we did, let him stay. But, then this place is just friendly like that.

Having chatted with our fellow beach mates, we learned that over 150 people from Tulsa were in town for a wedding. The Senator also ran into another Senator from our state who was there with his family. He is from the other party, but my Senator doesn’t discriminate. They met for coffee and rode bikes around the area. Although, this other Senator didn’t want me to take a photo of them hanging out because he knew I would place it right here….and he thinks my blog is “too Norman Rockwell”.

Maybe it is, but when did that become politically incorrect?

One thing is for certain, this “undisclosed location” is the essence of Norman Rockwell. Kids roam freely here and families are abundant. It is old world and full of charm.