People Watching Reflections

One of the pleasures of being out and about is the opportunity to engage in people watching. It’s amazing how quickly we form an impression of someone and make assumptions. There are also embedded learning moments as we see reflections of ourselves in others.

On a recent weekday I made an effort to remember my observations of people as I made a mid-morning errand. Here are the people I saw:

• A woman hurrying as she made a right turn in her car while I was waiting to turn left. She had a cell phone held to her ear. Does anyone handle driving and juggling small electronics well?
• A woman that backed up very quickly from her parking spot. I was glad I had stopped my trek from the parking lot to the store in time. She had not seen me and looked very startled when she noticed I was there; I tried to smile reassuringly. Similar things have happened to me and I always feel discombobulated for some time afterward.
• An older couple walking into the grocery store in comfortable clothes and bulky jackets; they got their basket just before I got mine. Their list must have been as short as mine because they left the store at the same time I did.
• Two produce stockers working at bins of fruit and vegetables talking about when they would be working over the next few days.
• A woman taking inventory in the freezer section. She had her coat on over her employee ‘uniform.’ Grocery stores are often kept on the cool side overall and I can imagine employees that work in some sections need extra layers of clothing to keep warm.
• The monitor for the self-checkout that responded to my glance in her direction within seconds. Eye contact really is quite a powerful social tool.

Traffic was light on the way home and it was so cold that there weren’t any dog walkers in the neighborhood. Somehow I expected to see more people and felt isolated that there were none.