People Watching

Every Saturday morning, my wife and I go to Landau to the Farmer’s Market.  It is not just produce from local farms, but also from the region including Elsass.  There is a wide assortment of French cheese.  The variety of vegetables is difficult to describe.  The thing we like is that the origin is placed on all produce.   Vegetables and fruit are not limited to Germany, but also from France, Spain, Italy and even Israel. 
The nice thing about the Saturday morning is that we sit at a sidewalk café next to the market and have a coffee.  That is when the people watching begins.  Old and young.  Some carrying bags of produce while others pull a cart loaded with their purchases.  Some come by bicycle and have a basket on front and back.  Some use a Rollator (don’t know the English name) but those who can’t walk well use it to push and carry their purchases.  When my wife goes into some store, I sit and continue watching.  I find it very interesting and often amusing.  Women wearing high heels walking on cobble stones are funny.  There are those who wear bras and those without.  Some have very large bosoms and walk slightly bent over.  I surmise that they have back problems.  Other women look like they pushed themselves into stretch clothes with every lump and wrinkle visible.  I wonder if they asked a friend how they look in their clothes and if the friend told the truth or lied.  Some men look like they are nine months pregnant.  Young couples pushing baby buggies are nice to see.  They stop often and utter sweet nothings to the child and then the child giggles. Very nice.
 
I also try to ascertain what the people do for a living.  Those in retirement are easy to spot.  Some people have a smile on their face and seem to be enjoying themselves while others are frowning or stone-faced, perhaps in a bad relationship or just miserable.  The young ones have a spring in their step and often skip a bit.  When my wife returns I share what I saw and then we continue watching and have a good laugh at something we find ridiculous.  Then there are those who have dressed for going out and strut their stuff. 
 
Love people watching.

People watching is really fun.  I used to do a lot of that in airports. I found the men fascinating with their looks of self-importance in their Armani suits and fancy cell phones to the guy who looks like he ought to be escorted out of the airport.  All older men seem to look alike with their shaved heads or fringe of white hair on a bald head, slightly wrinkled faces, extra tire around the waist and some stopped over, most wearing glasses.  Younger men are in every sort of facial hair and hairstyle and those whose pants are falling off are always a hoot.  I still prefer a clean-shaven look. I see quite a few men with their European shaves (need a shave in my book and not a face to snuggle with - ouch), and some with one pigtail down their back and bald on top.  Some wear obvious hair pieces, some have obvious new plugs and some have dread locks or close buzzed hair.  I often guess at a person's economic status by their behavior and dress. The self-important ones with their designer clothes, shoes and travel cases, hair perfect, generally line up first for first class with a few stragglers less well clothed who probably got first-class upgrades with their points.  Then there are the European travelers with their worn back packs, SAS sandals, shorts and layered shirts, hair needing a wash, a little disheveled looking.  Even little families vary by economics, the mothers without wealth looking harried with their little ones and the wealthy with a nanny in tow looking perfectly relaxed.

Yep.  You are a people watcher.  Being observant may lead to a story, eh?

8/31/2013

                I love to watch people when I shop, it amazes me people don't care how they look !
                If someone is way overweight and this goes for men and women they have a bad
                habit of wearing tights and tight shirts, you see three rolls going down the front and
                a moon over Miami that's un-believable, their hair all over the place, or better yet I
                saw a lady one morning it looked like she was wearing pajamas, her hair in rollers
                like she just got out of bed. I've seen many young ones with huge tatoos, wrinkled
                T shirts and jeans. I never wear a T shirt shopping, always a casual sport shirt and
                 jeans. To me people today don't care how they look, I've always noticed when dress
                properly people will ask you in a store " How may I help you Sir."

                                                                     Cheers....Joe..

I have run to the dollar store with my hair and ensemble a mess thinking I'd run into no one there - and sure enough, run into friends.  I'm sure other people do the same.

My mom always said you will get the treatment and respect that you exhibit.  She felt that dressing appropriate showed respect and in return, other people return the respect.  Clothes do make the person; however, if you are young and perfectly proportioned you can get away with a lot more.

My son always said he wants to be appreciated for his character not the clothes he wears or the surface appearance.  I always told him to no avail that if they can't get past the exterior they'll never get to the character.

I have pity for people who are overweight.  Inside every overweight person is a thin person who wants to wear the styles.  My niece is considerable overweight and still wore short t's and strappy t's that looked awful from my perspective, yet she felt right about herself instead of covering the fat that should not be the basis for our judgment of her.

I know women who will not go swimming to get the exercise they need because they look awful in a swimsuit - men too!  My dad had an unusual amount of hair on his body and never went to the beach.  Today, men probably use wax or something.  

What I love about people watching is the infinite diversity - no two people look alike unless twins - even they have differences.  Imagine how many genetic combinations it takes to create all these external differences yet our blood runs red and our insides are very similar from our feelings and responses to life to the very organs that keep us alive.

DK wrote:

My mom always said you will get the treatment and respect that you exhibit. She felt that dressing appropriate showed respect and in return, other people return the respect. Clothes do make the person; however, if you are young and perfectly proportioned you can get away with a lot more.

My mom had a reputation for wearing couture and always looking elegant, so much so that a friend of mine told me that she had run into Mother at the grocery store, and that she (my mom) was wearing curlers. My friend said that that she felt embarrassed because she, herself, had her hair down. "I figured," she said, "that if Edna Earle wore curlers to the grocery store, it had to the fashionable thing to do."

I agree with DK.  First impressions are lasting.  If you can't get past the outer appearance, how can you see what's inside.
As has been said, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."