People-watching is one of those no-cost pastimes that anyone can engage in- unless one becomes emotionally involved. And the surest way to become emotionally involved is to be in a bad mood when the activity begins. I should know better, but like all humans, I continue to make mistakes.

Either that girl is too pretty, or this man is strange-looking, or the next person that strolls by is having a spirited conversation with some sort of invisible friend. I try not to be judgmental, and having thus acknowledged that I can harbor feelings of goodwill for all, realize I've been staring at a panhandler for the last minute, a look of total disgust on my face.

After a few moments of self-recrimination, I return to my humanoid-gazing, if not a better man, at least a tad more humble in the realization that passing judgments based on looks is deeply ingrained, and will no doubt happen again. And again...

Why, just the other day...

I'm sitting in a hospital waiting area while my daughter is holed up somewhere else in this labyrinthine building, having her right eye examined.

A fellow about ten feet away from me has been roaming around the room, sometimes sitting, other times standing. He looks to be around 30, average height, and slim build. No big deal, so far.

He's wearing jeans, old tennis shoes, a black pullover hoody, and a black stocking cap, long black hair hanging down and out from under said cap. He sports a thick moustache and a short beard, and a while ago he was holding a bag of chips, his long slender fingers pulling out one chip and putting it in his mouth, then chewing in a careful and precise way before admitting another.

There's a pair of sunglasses perched up there at the front of his cap. How stylish...

Maybe it's the beard. I've never liked them. The wearer always appears to be either vain, hiding something, or a total wimp.

It could be the dainty way he's eating chips- not effeminate but more parsimonious, as if he's stingy- or simply has a thing about chips and how they should be eaten just so.

Or is it the fact that he's been chewing on something else- maybe the same tired and worn out piece of gum- for the last half hour, the jaw moving up and down with only the minimum required effort, mouth never opening even once, while the chin whiskers jump up and down and up and down and up and down as he plays with that hand-held game.

How can he stand wearing the cap in here? Is it just for looks? I'd be sweating like a pig. The only way I'd wear a cap

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about People-watching: More than a pastime?
We want to hear your view. Write now!