People Watching

Yesterday we went to San Francisco to get my passport. It's hard to believe the Germany trip is in less than a week! Even though we showed up a half hour early for the appointment, we waited two hours beyond the appointment time. I took a book with me but spent most of the time there people watching or talking with William.

I love places like this from time to time. Airports, bus stations, medical clinics, government offices...all of them are rich with a diversity of people present at any given time. It's a great place to pick up character ideas.

Yesterday I saw a little Chinese boy all dressed in his coveralls and shirt. He had a baseball cap on and the hugest sunglasses for any three year old. Anytime an adult walked past, he beamed up at them with a wide, cheezy grin. Too bad most of them never saw him.

There was the young, bald man who yelled when he talked. Friendly enough but damn few people didn't know the details of his life by the time he left. I wondered if his hearing is damaged and that's why he was so oblivious to his loudness.

I watched a Hispanic father interact with his year old daughter. She stood with her feet in his lap and he held onto her hands. Everytime he sang to her, she danced all up and down his torso. It sounds weird on the screen but in person was very charming and sweet. I find myself wanting to describe her bubbly laughter and his soft singing voice.

See what I mean? This stuff is great. It's real life. You can't make these things up so why not borrow from the human race? I do.