July 1, 2007
Tangential Conversations
This week, I have rediscovered something that was always a fun activity for me. During a few points in my life, I have found myself significantlty underemployed with lots of time on my hands. During those times, one of my favorite things to do was to spend as much time as possible in the mall, not because I wanted to shop but because I wanted to listen.
Spending time around other people, whether we get to interact with them directly or just observe from afar is a greatly therapeutic experience. All to often we get wrapped up in a bubble of our own worlds and forget that most other people are just as strange, sad, frustrated, funny, and interesting as we think of ourselves.
Additionally, paying attention to the people around you lends itself to great bursts of imaginative enjoyment as we suppose what the endings are to the stories that pop up in our path throughout the day. I like nothing more than to hear 1/2 of a sentence or a conversation and then be left to think about what comes next, what they were thinking and what motivated that person to act the way they did.
This week has been particularly inspiring, and I am hoping to write some short (very short) stories based on the snippets I have picked up this week. Here are a few of the quips, or scenarios I ran into while in Norht Carolina:
- An older gentleman (75?) in a black suit walked out of the hotel, went to his car and leisurely grabbed a pair of handcuffs (real ones). As he walked back to his car, he dangled them from one hand.
- Passing two college age girls in a crosswalk yesterday, one turned to the other and said "...and then he said the T-word!"
- During dinner last night, two young men (20's) who were nicely dressed (ties) walked past us on the sidewalk while they guided a young lady in a party dress who was wearing a fancy looking blindfold.
- A businessman at breakfast finished his conversation about million dollar deals with a new employee and switched to a story about his son who while living alone in NYC, passed out and cracked his head open due to losing consciousness from malnourishment.
- A woman and daughter in town to register for classes next semester talked about how here boss renewed her nursing contract at half pay, which is going to force her to take double shifts to make up the difference. She ordered a poached egg, lightly toasted english muffin and an expresso while her daughter went off to pull the BMW around to the front drive so they could go the .7 miles to the registration office.
Hopefully, this isn't the last I see these ideas, but even if I do they are fun.
Comments
Dave you're still a nut job. I'm calling you Tuesday 7/17/07 to chat since I don't have your e-mail address. I may be swing by your area to work for the day. What to see if you can hang out.