A quick trip to the grocery store today gave me some great
people watching opportunities. This time it was mostly children who caught my
eye. The first was a girl of about ten. We were both talking over our
shoulders. Reaching for a shopping cart, we grabbed the same one. That was the
point where we became aware of each other.
There we stood, each with a hand on the cart, making full
eye contact, and not making a sound. Finally I spoke. “What do you think; two
out of three falls to see who wins the cart?”
She giggled but stood her ground. I sighed and let go. “I
don’t know, girl, you look pretty tough. I’ll just surrender the cart and take
the next one.” She was still giggling as she took the cart and walked away. Her
mother smiled and waved as they entered the building.
I picked up the few things I needed, and then decided to
stock up on the good chocolate before checking out. I found my access to the chocolate
in question blocked by a small blonde girl. Guess who. She turned and saw me
then stepped aside. Unfortunately, I was trying to step aside and we both
blocked each other’s path. We each took another step to the other side.
“Listen you,” I said, “I gave up on the cart, but if you’re
trying to keep me from the chocolate there’s going to be a tussle.”
Giggling, she moved aside so I could reach. “Which one is
the best?”
“This one is the all-time best. It has 90% Cacao in it, less
sugar.”
“But, isn’t it still bad for you?”
“Yes,” I sighed with an exaggerated slump of my shoulders.
“I thought so,” she giggled as she danced back to where her mother
was waiting. The woman gave me an “I’m sorry,” look, but I smiled and winked. I
loved the kid, she was cheerful, polite, and yet, completely fearless.
The check-out line was quite long so I had a chance to
observe a few more folks. The woman ahead of me was struggling a bit. She had a
baby in a carrier and twin boys of about two or three in the cart. One little
guy was wearing a red hat. His brother’s hat was in his pocket.
To their credit the boys were no trouble at all. Their legs
were through the rails and swinging gently. Their elbows rested on the top rail
and they were completely oblivious to the rest of the world. They chatted away
to each other in a language only they could understand, using hand gestures to
emphasize a point or to express an emotion.
Their mom passed a piece of candy to one boy who popped it
into his mouth. She then passed him a second one. He handed that one to his brother
who nodded as he accepted it. They picked up their conversation once again,
ignoring the comings and goings of the rest of the world.
I had a visual of them seventy years from now, sitting in
rockers on the front porch, elbows resting on their knees, swapping lies about
the glory days. Great kids.
So, how about you? Have you encountered any interesting folk
lately? Tell us about them.
If you have time, please check out this chapter from my WIP
and leave me some feedback. It’s here:
Posts
I love your people-watching posts, Prudence, and am ashamed to say I raced through the grocery store on my last visit and don't remember any of the people I saw there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat, I love people watching. I take every opportunity I can get. This is where many of my characters come from.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a cute kid. Those are much better to meet in the grocery store than the spoiled kid having the melt down. I find that I can't help but give my "Mean Teacher Look", also called "Stink Eye", to the kids who don't behave in public. Sometimes I give it to the parents, too.
ReplyDeleteStop it Emma, now you're scaring me. How do teachers do that? shiver
Deletethese posts are a treat, Pru. I don't people watch as much as I'd like to lately - I seem to always be in a hurry. but vacation is coming up soon and I'll get an eyeful while on the beach.
ReplyDeleteLouise, a vacay on the beach is just the time and place for people watching. You'll come away with a whole new cast of characters.
DeleteThat sounds like a great way to entertain yourself while shopping. I love the short stories you add here. Speaking of which, I thought you were going to do some short erotic stories??? Well???
ReplyDeleteAlyssa, I working on them, I am, but I keep getting distracted by the research. tee hee
DeleteI loved this post! I absolutely love people-watching and interacting with others. Especially when they are friendly back like that little girl you ran into - twice. It just makes your day, doesn't it? And wow, those boys sound like really good kids.
ReplyDeleteThe only interesting people I've seen lately, or at least that stuck out, was this mom and her daughter at Target. I forget what she said, but I was going to joke back with something while we waited in line. I turned to the woman and forgot what I was about to say because her daughter, probably only about 8 years old, had on a ton of make-up. Just like her mom. Lipstick, blush, mascera, even foundation. I mean, you could tell. I don't wear makeup myself, not on a regular basis, and when I do, it's just mascera, lip gloss and a bit of blush. But this girl had on more make up than I wore in college. And she was dressed to the nines in name brand sparkly boots, a skirt with a matching jacket, and one of those French hats.
The girl will be stunning as she gets older, but it broke my heart to see her that way. The fact that her mother dresses her to be a mini version of herself made me sick to my stomach. I hate it so much when parents don't let their kids be kids.
We don't even get upset with Kylie when she stains her best pair of pants. She's 7. Whatever! She's having fun!
Ugh.
Sorry...I'd forgotten about that, but that's something to jot down to remember for a book or something, so thank you for bringing that back to mind!
April, that's exactly what I do. Good or bad, as long as they stick in my mind a bit they go into a notebook for future reference.
DeleteI have been doing that as well...but sometimes I don't. LOL
DeleteNo one has passed through my basement lately.
ReplyDeleteAt least when you were still awake, right?
ReplyDeleteThat's right.
Delete