PEOPLE WATCHING

You can claim you don’t do this but I know better, everyone does the people watching number, especially in airports, bus and train stations. This is cheap entertainment and usually doesn’t cause too much concerns from other passengers. However, stare a bit too long or raise an eyebrow over some sight and you might get the universal finger.

Yes, admit it, you too like to watch people too? Thar don’t you feel better just acknowledging that little habit! Now what is even more fun is guessing the “background” of these people. Some are easy: newlyweds, senior citizens, mean ole fart, demanding ole woman, etc.!

What I find amazing, especially during winter travel is the foot wear folks use. Keep in mind these folks are not traveling south, hell no, they are going east, mid-country or west coast and they wear flip-flops! Imagine the looks on their faces when that foot hits snow and ice. Oh ya, there are smart braincases traveling in the winter.

Then you have the luggage – again this is a fun performance to witness. Unlike airplanes, trains allow quite a bit of carrying on luggage. You can store it overhead or down in some compartment and get it when you disembark the train. But I’m not talking simple suitcases here, hell no, they bring half the damn house and that includes many suitcases, boxes, strollers and bags and bags. The bags mostly contain food which they are constantly digging through to find that perfect snack. And they also haul their own pillows and blankets.

We tend to check our bigger suitcases to our final destination…we do not want, need or like to handle them each time we change trains, even if that is only two train changes. We then have two smaller bags to carry on, one contains the laptop and the other a change of clothes as we have a sleeper and we definitely change clothes. Oh, other folks, those riding in coach have community bathrooms and showers, so they too can clean up and change clothes as well. To be honest my husband and I have never used the train showers – they are very small and bouncing around inside this tiny shower closet is just not worth it – we can use washcloth, soap and hit all the important spots very nicely, thank you very much!

The interaction of travelers is also fun to watch. You got the Dad’s who like to play big shot and won’t help with the kids and roll their eyes as the poor wife/mother struggles to keep kids entertained, inline and quiet. I just want to bitch slap these Dads and say,”hey, these are your kids too. Stop being an ass and help her!"

Then you have the devoted husband or wife who nicely insures their mate has a comfortable seat in the waiting area, and then they take off to get food, magazines or a drink – of course, they are gone a long time and after a bit, this total stranger will lean over and ask you; “have you seen Charlie?” [you never are sure what they mean, is Charlie a kid, dog, doll, grown man, or stuffed animal. Its best to just nod no and say nothing.]

The super parents are even more fun to watch. They have all these mindless games to play to entertain their children and want you to see them as super parents, so damn good, they never yell, raise a hand or blink when their precious little darlings dump their damn juice drink all over your shoes! Oh ya, these are my favorite travelers and I tend to insure there is plenty of distance between me and them – even if that means, I need to move and find another seat!

Hey, you want cheap entertainment and a way to kill time, this is it and again, we all do it! By the by, I get my summer glow from a bottle. It says "Zinfandel."

OKAY, HERE'S YOU HUMOR FOR THE DAY

Three old guys are out walking.

First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'

Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'

Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go get a beer.'