People Watching

I was in Richmond today with my mother who was shopping for fabrics at a favorite haunt of hers. I waited in the car as usual, but it took her about 45 minutes till she actually left the store. As one can expect, I got a little bored and impatient.

I tried entertaining myself by observing the people as they passed by my car. There was a little child with his father walking by. The child was chasing a rather large bird which I think was a seagull. I was amused by this situation because I can recall doing the same thing so many years ago.

As I watched this event unfold, I noticed that the bird was having a rather difficult time running away. I wondered why it just didn't fly away, at that moment the bird flapped its wings and flew a few inches but quickly crash landed. It was then that I realized the bird was injured. As the child was scolded by the father for his behavior, my attention shifted completely to the bird. I felt sorry for the creature as I watched it cross the street. I was hoping that no cars would pass as the bird made its way across the intersection. Luckily no harm came to the creature. As it walked out of view, I felt a sense of helplessness. I hope it's okay.

Next, my attention was caught by a young man running with his shirt off. There was a woman trying to catch up with him. He stopped across the street from me as the women walked to his location. As she approached, I noticed that they were actually in the middle of an argument.

I was fascinated by their body language. He had his shirt in his hands and was continually swinging it, while she was standing very static. It was almost like he was using his shirt as a distraction from what she was trying to get across to him. At one point, the man started walking away while the woman called out his name.

My mom returned shortly and as I was about to leave I saw the woman snag the shirt out of the man's hands and hit him with it repeatedly. From the distance I was at, I could not hear what the argument was about, but just by observing their body language it was a fascinating display of the emotions common to all human relationships.