by Rachel Doherty

Created on: August 20, 2008

Some of the most solitary times of my life have also been the most interesting thanks to my habit of people watching. I have spent many a lonely afternoon watching the world go by from a park bench or a sidewalk cafe. I have seen some of the greatest dramas unfold before my eyes by simply sitting back and waiting for something to happen. Real life can be so much more interesting than anything a television writer can dream up. I can use my own imagination to fill in the blanks, perhaps even embellish the details. You can do that when you are watching strangers. Go ahead, jump to conclusions. Why not imagine up a backstory. No one will get hurt. It's just a conversation with yourself. It is usually forgotten within a few hours. However, there are always observations that stay with you for one reason or another. Here are a few examples.

Recently, I was walking down a Manhattan street behind a young Japanese couple. They were strolling along holding hands, attached arms swinging back and forth. She was dressed up in a white cotton dress with some uncomfortable looking pumps. He had on white jeans and a nice button down shirt with deck shoes. I guessed that they were coming from the South Street Seaport, which is the main tourist attraction in the area. They were either on vacation or a first date because they seemed so relaxed and happy to have found either this place or each other. As they stepped off a curb the girl's foot went over sideways and I could see she had broken the heel to her pump. Without skipping a beat, the boy took off his right shoe and put it on the foot with the damaged shoe. As they continued down the street holding hands, her walking lopsidedly with one pump and one deck shoe and he with one bare foot and holding her broken pump in his free hand, I had two thoughts. First, this guy must have some small feet. And second, chivalry is definitely not dead on this particular afternoon.

At a water park in upstate New York I witnessed the other end of humanity. There I saw a tired-looking, middle-aged woman with her husband, two kids, and elderly mother. It seemed like a nice family outing until I heard the string of profanities and threats being flung first at one of the kids and then at the old woman. It all started when the young boy tried to follow his mom and younger brother into the ladies changing room. His dad called weakly after him, "Your mom said you need to stay out here." The boy ignored him and continued in behind them. Right away the

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