Moving pictures
I’ve always liked watching people. I spent a lot of time in the French Quarter in New Orleans. In fact, for most of my marriage to S we spent every weekend there. We didn’t have lots of money, but we’d take the kids (Katie was probably 2-3 and Aaron just a baby) and just walk around, window shop, watch the people. Not just the street performers but all the regular people walking around.
Over the last year I’ve started to pay attention to my inner thoughts as I ride on the Light Rail to and from school, or when I’m driving by people, or walking along campus. One of the things I’ve noticed and I don’t like is that at least 1/2 of the people walking around are talking on cell phones. But other than that just irritating me in the same way that we are raising an instantaneous generation of kids who have everything NOW, it is just something I notice.
But the real thing I see is that as I walk or ride along, I notice all sorts of interesting things. People dress weird. Especially on campus, where there are all sorts of financial classes, chosen styles, nationalities, etc. And walking along hearing the buzz in the background of conversations, cars, street noises, etc it seems to me to be the background of a movie. I frequently find myself seeing the whole thing as a movie playing across my consciousness, and wondering about the people around me, who they are, what they do, where they are going. And then when the occasional louder voices speak out of the crowd drawing my attention, seemingly random bits and pieces adding color to the story. It all seems very abstract yet beautiful. Colors and sound blend together to form a moving story in my head.
The weird part about it, is doing that always makes me feel outside the picture. Like I’m watching a movie and am totally not a part of the interaction. I know that to be false both on a practical level as well as spiritual, but it is a strange experience. However, it doesn’t stop me from enjoying it.
