Phil Bildner, the author of the New York Times bestselling Sluggers! series has challenged us with a prompt to people watch. We are to create a list of characters or character traits based on what we see. Such a simple activity that leads to wonderful ideas...and so I watch.
- An elderly man sitting at a computer. The wrinkles on his face scream that he has lived a long and perhaps hard life. What is he reading? Why does he look so sad? Is he checking his mail again for the 100th time today and still no email from his kids or grandkids?
- A toddler running wild and free. Joy stretching across her face as she winds in and out of the bookshelves. Is she joyfully screaming because she broke free of momma's hand? Is she bubbling with excitement because she just found a copy of her beloved book that momma reads to her every night?
- Two friends who meet for lunch. The older woman is decisive and is eager to order lunch. She begins to get agitated as her younger friend takes her time deciding what to order. Why is she in such a hurry? What causes her to be so upset? Does the younger friend not notice? Or perhaps she doesn't care? Is this a frequent occurrence between these two women? Is it the ebb and flow of their relationship?
I have always enjoyed people watching. Today I was able to see them as characters and wonder what story they were telling. Is theirs a book I would pick up and read? Would it be the one that I couldn't put down until I had stayed up all night to finish reading it? I think maybe so...
The idea of people watching could be such a neat idea for learners to do as a writing activity as well. I wonder what our students would say or write as they took the time to notice the characters in real life. Of the people that you saw, my favorite line, because it was so vivid, was "the wrinkles on his face scream..." -- keep up the writing! :-)
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