Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Looking

An occupational hazard of being a writer is the fact that you are a people watcher.  You aren't watching to just look.  You are watching to get ideas for characters, for situations, and even places.  Us writers can creep people out with the way we just sit there and stare.  Luckily, many of us have gotten good at not making it obvious that we are observing you or the situation that you are currently involved in.

For example, there is a bank whose parking lot I sit in every morning and every afternoon for crosswalk duty.  I will often just park my truck in a specific space where I can watch for students and sit in the cab, out of the elements.  There is one particular lady that I have observed for this entire school year, mainly because of what happened in the late fall.  This particular lady broke her leg.  And it was a pretty bad break too considering the fact that she had to use a little cart to get around once she came back to work.  Here are some things that I can tell you about her simply from watching her.

1. She is a teller.  Tellers always arrive before the bankers in the morning since the bankers only have to be there when he lobby is open.
2. She is cared for by her spouse.  Since she broke her right leg, it would have been very difficult to drive so her spouse dropped her right off in front of the door every day she used the cart.
3. She is financially stable.  The car that her spouse dropped her off in was a higher end sports car.  Not the most expensive but definitely not the cheapest either.
4. She is well liked by her coworkers.  Every time she arrives the same time as a coworker, she always waits for them & will chat with them as they walk to the door.
5. Even though her leg is healed, it still gives her some trouble, especially during colder weather.  The limp that she has becomes more pronounced during the colder temps.

See?  It is interesting what you notice when you sit down and just observe :-)