People Watching on a Saturday Afternoon

I love people watching... way too much.  In one of my entry-level communication classes in college, we were instructed to observe at least three people for an extended period of time in a public place and then actually walk up to them, introduce ourselves, and ask them to confirm or deny inferences made based upon our observations.  On one level, this was understandably uncomfortable and yet, on another level, thoroughly enjoyable.  It was as if my mere people watching tendencies had been validated and even mandated.

But really, who doesn't love people watching?  I have yet to meet someone who doesn't occasionally satisfy their curiosity with watching the affairs of others, whether it be via facebook, a mall food court, twitter, or a public park. 

That is just one of many reasons I love where I live.  Jeromy and I live on the second story of a house recently renovated into two apartments.  As you can imagine, opportunities for people watching grow exponentially when you have a ten foot advantage.  We also live at the corner of a three-street intersection.  Very confusing for visitors trying to find our house, but all six corners offer ample opportunity for folks stopping on the corner to chat.  Further, we live right across the street from a popular hole-in-the-wall barbecue place which offers its patrons outdoor seating and curbside pick-up only.  If cars aren't rolling by, you can even pick up words, phrases, even sentences from people's conversations.  You can see the heated tent set up for winter customers on the very left of the picture below.  Lastly, we're a stone's throw away from one of the city's "parks," or small grass plots, that invites residents to linger on beautiful and dreary days alike and enjoy a magnificent view of the city.

People watching heaven, some might call it. Others probably just call it creepy, but I know they too would secretly enjoy it if they were on the watching side. 

Multiple mornings when the weather was warmer, I watched my very disciplined neighbor lift weights in his backyard at 6:45 am, marveling at his commitment and good form.  Simultaneously I was wondering, will I ever care that much about working out to painstakingly do calf raises up 18 stairs at that dim hour?  Doubtful.  It may or not be morally ok that I just published a picture of my neighbors' backyards, but check out his weightbench in the closest backyard below.

Currently, my neighbor in the far brick house is perusing her fenced-in backyard accompanied by what looks to be a landscaper or designer of sorts.  Tape measurer and small notebook in hand, she paces with determined steps, and I can't wait to see the creative transformation of the hard dirt and clover-filled expanse.  There are tools and cameras being pulled out that give the impression something quite sectacular is in the works.

Across the street, what looks to be a large extended family is waiting for their beef brisket and pork barbecue sandwiches while laughing and playing with the two youngest kids.  The little boy, barely able to walk, has bit it on the concrete quite a few times, but won't give up.  I admire his perseverance.

Another man pulls up in a shiny, fast-looking black car and gets out wearing sportcoat and khakis.  His shiny watch catches the sun as he locks his car with the beeper thing a few times too many.  He glances back at it three or four times while sauntering with his lunch partner to the counter to order.  Looks like he's in unfamiliar territory, but I'm glad he is choosing to explore something new and a little different in this quaint little city block.

The barbecue place must be making a killing today.  A man and his six-year old son also just parked and ordered some lunch.  Walking hand in hand from the establishment towards the park, the little boy starts running down the sidewalk and after waiting a required few seconds, his dad sets off for the desired chase.  In a neighborhood where dads seem hard to come by, this exchange makes me smile goofily to myself.

Earlier this morning I sat on my porch reading while Jeromy hid in the kitchen, making faces at me through the screen door.  I couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then noticed an eight or nine year-old girl huddled in my neighbor's doorway, staring skeptically at me as I sat laughing loudly, apparently at myself. 

"What are you laughing at?" she yelled boldly. 

"My husband is inside being silly," I tried to explain, but quickly changed the subject to avoid further embarassment.  The little girl, named India, just laughed and continued chatting with me.  After a few minutes of introductions and conversation with India and her grandma, India began pleading with her grandma to come and play on my porch before going to her aunt's house for the day.  I advised her to continue with her day's plan, but to visit any other time she liked.  Such an effortless and enjoyable acquaintance made thanks to the complete lack of self-consciousness that is so often refreshingly encountered in kids.

There's been some not so sunshiney things too.  I've watched a man in his Jazzee electric wheelchair ride up and down the street, stopping to investigate anything appearing interesting or potentially lucrative off the ground.  There's another man that rolls a shopping cart down the alleys behind all of our houses and rummages through the top few trashbags in each trashcan after 10:00 pm or so, hoping to find something worth taking.  I've caught one neighbor stupidly taking a few sips from a liquor bottle before getting in his car to go out on a Saturday night.  I guess there was also the time a red Jeep veered out of control on an icy spot of the road and smashed into my neighbor's parked car before regaining control and quickly leaving the scene. 

I am simultaneously critical of my people watching and defensive of it.  I know it's a little creepy, but no matter what or who I am watching, I am visually reminded that the world is bigger than the things that I have allowed to construct my reality.  There are more people to engage and learn from than simply those in my social circle and my workplace.  I can't control or expect who I might see while sitting on my porch.  Indeed, unique spontaneity and opportunity exists in being a neighbor, which is probably why Jesus explicitly told us to love neighbors like ourselves.  We don't choose our neighbors, but we live and breathe mere feet from them day in and day out.  Why not get to know them as we live and breathe Spirit-filled lives alongside them? 

All of my observations have made me eager now for warmer weather and consequential opportunities to linger in happenstance run-ins and unexpected conversations with my neighbors.  Tim Keller noted that while humans draw pictures of scenic views and coastlines, God draws pictures of crammed and sweaty New York subway cars, full of people, His crown of creation and image bearers.  I bet there's quite a bit going on with the people just beyond your walls and mine, regardless of whether your observations of them inspire joy or make you sad.  Perhaps all of us should move from purely passive people watching tendencies to people engaging as God affords us opportunities.