People watching can be an excellent pastime, even when you aren’t actually trying to engage in the activity.
Monday, I went browsing at Angel’s Antiques with a friend of mine. Neither of us had much to do that afternoon, so we killed time browsing records and taking stock of the various tchotchkes strewn about the store.
Who could pass up an Elvis painting on velvet? For the $200 asking price, I certainly could.
However, more important and interesting than the Elvis memorabilia and the lovely cobalt blue martini glasses were the things we saw and heard whilst making our way through the store.
We passed by a bickering young couple. The young man wanted to stay and look at something; the young woman was pushing the cart along, saying “Come on” in a rather exasperated tone. An older woman walking by them said to the man, “You stay right there, honey. She can wait.”
The young man smiled and thanked the lady, looked at his gal and said, “Yeah, but it’s probably not worth it.”
The older woman smiled, nodded, mumbled something about the keys to marriage and went about her way.
There was an older woman who let out a fairly loud fart when my friend and I walked by her. I think she thought we were too deep in our conversation to hear it, but we did, and doubled over with laughter in a nearby booth for about five minutes after we got out of her earshot.
We’re still laughing about it. Maybe the eight-year-old me inside of 24-year-old Cliff is still in charge of the part of the brain that finds bodily functions hilarious.
Public is still public, even if you are having a private moment.
Just because you’re having a conversation with someone else doesn’t mean that someone nearby isn’t listening or watching. In fact, just go ahead and assume they are.
We all think we carry our right to privacy around with us wherever we go, as if it were some sort of insulation bubble protecting us from our harsh public surroundings.
When we’re with a group of people, we tend to act as though we’re in some quasi-private setting, allowing us to act and speak as if we were gathered together in one of our homes rather than a public place like a restaurant or the movies.
The odd things I’ve overheard and seen over the years could more than fill the pages of this paper.
I’ve been getting by off bits of found dialogue for years. Some of my funniest and best jokes involve stories I’ve observed (or eavesdropped upon) when folks think they aren’t being listened to or watched.
Of course, the other side of this coin is that I myself have engaged in public private behavior more than a few times.
Those of you who know me well know I have a penchant for extreme truth-telling that can be a bit boisterous and extreme at times.
Lord only knows how many people I’ve startled and offended by the out-of-context comments and “truth bombs” I’ve lobbed over the years.
We should all remember to be careful when in public.
While we may be having a discussion we believe to be confidential, know that eyes and ears around you are watching, listening and waiting.
“Act like somebody,” Tim Gore used to tell the McCollum and Gore kids when we were little.
Act like somebody, Opelika.
Don’t become fodder for one of my columns.
Monday, I went browsing at Angel’s Antiques with a friend of mine. Neither of us had much to do that afternoon, so we killed time browsing records and taking stock of the various tchotchkes strewn about the store.
Who could pass up an Elvis painting on velvet? For the $200 asking price, I certainly could.
However, more important and interesting than the Elvis memorabilia and the lovely cobalt blue martini glasses were the things we saw and heard whilst making our way through the store.
We passed by a bickering young couple. The young man wanted to stay and look at something; the young woman was pushing the cart along, saying “Come on” in a rather exasperated tone. An older woman walking by them said to the man, “You stay right there, honey. She can wait.”
The young man smiled and thanked the lady, looked at his gal and said, “Yeah, but it’s probably not worth it.”
The older woman smiled, nodded, mumbled something about the keys to marriage and went about her way.
There was an older woman who let out a fairly loud fart when my friend and I walked by her. I think she thought we were too deep in our conversation to hear it, but we did, and doubled over with laughter in a nearby booth for about five minutes after we got out of her earshot.
We’re still laughing about it. Maybe the eight-year-old me inside of 24-year-old Cliff is still in charge of the part of the brain that finds bodily functions hilarious.
Public is still public, even if you are having a private moment.
Just because you’re having a conversation with someone else doesn’t mean that someone nearby isn’t listening or watching. In fact, just go ahead and assume they are.
We all think we carry our right to privacy around with us wherever we go, as if it were some sort of insulation bubble protecting us from our harsh public surroundings.
When we’re with a group of people, we tend to act as though we’re in some quasi-private setting, allowing us to act and speak as if we were gathered together in one of our homes rather than a public place like a restaurant or the movies.
The odd things I’ve overheard and seen over the years could more than fill the pages of this paper.
I’ve been getting by off bits of found dialogue for years. Some of my funniest and best jokes involve stories I’ve observed (or eavesdropped upon) when folks think they aren’t being listened to or watched.
Of course, the other side of this coin is that I myself have engaged in public private behavior more than a few times.
Those of you who know me well know I have a penchant for extreme truth-telling that can be a bit boisterous and extreme at times.
Lord only knows how many people I’ve startled and offended by the out-of-context comments and “truth bombs” I’ve lobbed over the years.
We should all remember to be careful when in public.
While we may be having a discussion we believe to be confidential, know that eyes and ears around you are watching, listening and waiting.
“Act like somebody,” Tim Gore used to tell the McCollum and Gore kids when we were little.
Act like somebody, Opelika.
Don’t become fodder for one of my columns.
Fart spray.
ReplyDeleteTruth bomb away. Leggings are not pants, and when you park you're stroller in the middle of the aisle, you're lucky you kid is sitting in it. Because if not, I am not above moving it out of my way.
ReplyDelete