People.

  

One of the my favorite things about traveling is the people watching. I am entertained by watching people carrying on in their daily lives. It’s one of the reasons that I tend to dress in a nondescript manner; it’s easier to just watch people when you’re part of the background.

I see so many people on trains and in airport terminals with headphones in their ears and I can’t understand why they want to shut out the world. The world around us is so very fascinating.

I can sit for hours and just watch people. I don’t really want to engage in conversation or anything, though I will talk with someone if they look friendly enough and we are in relatively close proximity to one another. I’m not comfortable with screaming “HEY” across an airport terminal, though I have observed that some folks do feel comfortable to do such a thing. They’ll even yell “HEY” across a large store or something. I like to keep my interactions on a more personal level.

People are fascinating. I once remarked to a friend that every person is making some sort of contribution to this life experience, even if that contribution is a negative one. No one is invisible. It’s amazing what you see when you watch people. Nuances, moods, mannerisms, all of this is fascinating to me.

I’m writing this blog entry in the Jeep in the remote corner of a grocery store parking lot. People are coming in and out of the store and battling the elements whilst doing so. How they deal with the wind and the rain, how they push their cart, whether they put their cart in the corral or not when they’re done, it’s all very fascinating to me.