The People Watching:
1. A woman in stilettos and a sea-foam, sequined, skin-tight, cut out back, hem “cut up to there” dress is carrying a giant eco-friendly McDonald’s sac complete with a picture of the Golden Arches and a cheeseburger and fries.
2. A woman, old, with a big smile, tiny clothes and a fanny pack is strolling with a friend. Her grey hair is dulling her brown dye but her eyes, bright blue and busy, stand out on her tanned, boney face. As she passes, I notice the outline of what I can only guess is an incontinence protection pad bulging through her skin-tight, age defying, and butt hugging leggings.
3. A gorgeous 4-yr old girl in a radiant pink dress with cloth flowers in the same bright color adorning her neck is running to her dad, hugging his leg, running away laughing and looking over her shoulder at him before she runs back and hugs his leg again. He holds her stuffed monkey in one hand and his cell phone in the other and never skips a beat on his phone call.
4. A little boy is walking with his Grandfather. He (the little boy) is wearing railroad inspired pinstripe denim pants and blue t-shirt with a striped clip-on tie attached.
5. A man in his early 30’s sits by me with a group of friends. He’s thin, and pale with a Bradley Cooper kind of face scruff but his danger rating is more Johnny Depp. He’s telling his friends that his parents pay for his cell phone but they’ll only pay for talk time and not for data. He’s angry. Who in this century can have a cell phone without a data plan? (Sorry Johnny, I’m sure you have and pay for your own data plan.) His friends seemed at a loss for how he can get data on his phone.
6. There’s a woman in city camouflage (faded, ripped jeans, a grey button down and sunglasses) surreptitiously taking iPhone video of a little boy wearing an F train t-shirt. He’s running back and forth with a slack jaw making his voice bounce with every step – “ehha, ehha, ehha, ehha, ehha …” until he bounces past and away from the camerawoman to his waiting parents.
The Six Things I Learned:
- McDonald’s will never be enviro-chic.
- To keep ’em guessing, make sure your depends don’t show.
- A knee can’t reciprocate a hug.
- It’s always possible to find a compromise.
- Grow up! (Sorry, not something I learned, just what I was thinking).
- Sometimes, to keep on trucking is the best thing you can do.
Had I been in let’s say, Times Square, I’d have written about the proliferation of Naked Cowboys and Elmos or maybe the guy who walks around with blue dyed live rats on his head (I’m sure after the rat image, you’re all grateful I wasn’t in Times Square).
New York is full of quirky and funny and normal people worthy of watching. And with all of this built-in free entertainment, you may never need a drink. But if you’re a little thirsty and maybe hungry too and want to people watch at a place with great food, reasonable prices and a bartender who knows the right end of a tequila bottle (and all the other spirits), check out Kelley & Ping in Soho. It’s a self-service noodle bar by day and at night, transforms into a candle lit full shebang. So go enjoy a strong, no kidding around margarita with your Bulgogi (or Pad Sew Yew, or what ever Asian inspired deliciousness strikes your fancy from their menu).
And enjoy the crowd – the tourists, artists, hipsters and average New Yorker’s like me.