People watching is by far one of my most preferred past times. It is a quite pleasurable thing for me to don a pair of dark glasses and merely observe the interactions of passers by. But why would such a seemingly mundane activity give anyone pleasure? I imagine myself a kind of artist and therefore the interactions/behaviours of persons present the opportunity for me to paint an array of verbal pictures. Many of these persons eventually become characters in the pieces that I write. These pictures I must add however are mere sketches and cannot...should NOT form the basis for my conclusion of the true character of a person. After all, the age old saying is one "can't judge a book by its cover".This adage came home very strongly to me recently after I'd gained a new friend. For the first month at my new job it seemed that every week I saw a coworker for the first time (the staff is reasonably large and people are stationed at various points of the campus). When I settled in somewhat I began my usual
sizing up of my new coworkers. One person in particular initially struck me as very stern (I don't recall noticing him smile or laugh until after we'd become friendly) and I never noticed him hanging out and talking loudly with some of the others. The extra-curricular activities he participated in were the "brainiac" ones and he usually addressed me with very formal greetings and in a rather formal tone (but then we were at work so I guess I should be appreciative of his respectful attitude). Had I gone away with my sketch of this individual I would not have learnt that he is an affable individual. He's a no nonsense man but he's also quite easy going and good company.
I still like people watching but I have been so strongly reminded that I should keep my impressions as sketches i.e subject to proper definition at a later date. I hope I never become one of those persons who doesn't allow people to show me their true colours before I make a judgement on them. Instead, as I let my kids do every time we read a novel, I hope I create character journals in which I add or subtract impressions of a character as the story develops and more of that person is revealed.
