Observations

As writers, we are observers. Some of our greatest mentors remind us that writers look at the world differently than others. We study people and things, inquire about places and customs. The entire world is a dynamic pool of ideas for writing. I revisited an old article this morning about how we are in such a rush to live all the time. The writer suggested we live our lives for our resumes and not for our eulogies. The reference was to the things people celebrate and honor each other for in a eulogy, as opposed to the things listed on our resumes. Simply put, after someone is gone we celebrate his ability to make anyone laugh, or the honest way in which she loved. We don't celebrate the promotion to Vice President of marketing or how many cases were won in court. It reminded me to slow down a little, take in my surroundings. I decided with a pretty laid back schedule today, I was going to concentrate on observing my surroundings this morning. Here is what I noticed in a few short hours.

Observations

People have strange affection and attachment to famous people they likely never met. I pulled up behind a Cadillac this morning. It was a fairly new and nice looking car, if you like Caddies. I looked it up when I got home, and if it's the car I think it is, it starts at $53,000. What struck me about it is on the back there was a license plate frame that said Dale Earnhardt. Maybe it's just because I'd never put something like that on my car, but I though it was strange. People love famous people like family.

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Driving down the road on my way out this morning I noticed a pink fire engine. It said something on the side. I think it was Supporting Women, Raising Awareness. Why do we always make pink the color of women's issues? I'm not a big fan of pink. And fire engines look weird in pink.

This isn't the one I saw, but it's pretty close.

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Just because you're courteous to someone, doesn't mean they will return the courteousness. I went to get my haircut this morning, and pulled into a big shopping plaza. As I pulled past a stop sign in front of Publix, I rolled slowly for a couple of twenty-something guys crossing toward the store. I really didn't need to stop, as they were several feet away as I approached.  But there was a long line of cars behind me, and I try to be safe and courteous in busy parking lots (See this post). As I sat there, with all those cars behind me, those guys were taking their time, looking behind them and not moving along. I stopped a lot of traffic for them, and they were just lollygagging. They never even threw out a thank you wave. No big whoop, I had a/c and a good song on the radio. I just noticed they didn't appreciate my courtesy.

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Fried chicken is one of the yummiest foods in the world. Forget that it's not healthy, the only thing that might be better is the smell of fried chicken cooking. Not so at 9:00 am.

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It's 90 degrees plus outside on a daily basis here in Florida. We have no signs of fall at all except for pumpkin spice everything in every restaurant and fast food joint, and shoe stores trying to convince us to buy boots. But I noticed today, you can still find plenty of us in jeans and a surprising number of people in long sleeves and hoodies. I saw a guy on his bike at a stop light, in long pants and a hoodie. I thought there's no way he can arrive anywhere without stinking like holy hell when he gets there. Maybe it's for safety, in case he falls.

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Since my son started driving, if there are any police lights or other emergency vehicles within miles of my home, or his school, or his job, and I happen to pass by, my heart sinks and starts racing. I know I'll always be worried about his well-being. Will it subside when I can't see where he is all the time?