People Watching is a Necessity...but Not Always
I have a confession to make. I am a people watcher. I have found that being a good people watcher takes a lot of skill and practice. When you make a hobby out of people watching. you have to be very careful to be sneaky enough so the people that you are watching are nut aware that they are being watched. When you have your skill perfected you will find yourself sitting in the back row of church and at the table closest to a dance floor. Another thing that people watchers like to do is to get to the air- port at least an hour before their flight is scheduled to leave. And it is not unusual for a people watcher to fight for the side of the booth in a restaurant that is facing the door.
I learned to people watch at a very early age. On Saturday nights. before television was way of life. people watching was a family past time. We would get in our 46 straight eight Packard and drive down to Main Street and wait for the show. Our favorite place to park was in front of the local saloon. There was a lot of entertainment in front of the local saloon on Saturday night. In this modern mobile society that we have created, people watching has become a little more sophisticated. Parking in front of the local saloon is out of date now’ simply because you can’t find a parking place for your Packard. So now we have to resort to driving long distances to enjoy the best people watching
My hobby of people watching was at an all time high a couple of weeks ago. We attended the Press Convention at the Brown Palace Hotel and the Willie and Waylon concert at McNichols. all in the same day. This kind of day is a dream come true for an experienced people watcher. Now let’s face it, the patrons at the Brown Palace are a far cry from the patrons of the local saloon on Saturday night. There are some mighty fancy looking dudes having the door opened for them by the door- man at the Brown Palace. I also noticed that when a drink cost three dollars at the Brown Palace. everyone is very careful not to spill it down their front or anywhere else. Everyone stands around with their pinky finger sticking out. slowly sipping on their investment. I ca:n remember trying not to get caught staring at the lady at the Press luncheon who was sipping on her glass of white wine while wearing her full length mink coat, and thinking….if I am a good little newspaper girl - will I get a coat like that?
With only half of my big day over it was time for a change from my sittin’ shoes to my boots and head for the concert at McNichols for some serious people watching. Fifteen thousand of them to be exact. Watching people at country-western music concert is getting back to basics. It was just like sitting in front of the local saloon in the Packard. Watching weekend cowboys. in the land of plenty as far as beer is concerned. is entertaining to say the least. They seem to have a little more money to buy beer than the fancy people have to buy white wine at the Brown Palace. Maybe it’s because jeans and boots don’t cost as much as mink coats. They probably still have to pay three dollars for a beer. but they have to buy more because spillage is a problem. Seems like the guy who has had the most beer is selected to be the beer-getter for the rest of the crowd By the time he gets back to his seat, the four cups of beer that he is taking back to his friends are only half full. He has spilled the other half down the steps of the arena.
So you can see. I am a dyed in the wool people watcher. And although I claim people watching as a hobby. there are times when I find that people watching is completely unnecessary. Especially when going to a restaurant with my husband and all the waitresses have on short skirts and low cut blouses. This is when I find myself giving him a dirty look and saying…. “don’t you know it’s not nice to stare at people.”
