Sunday, February 28, 2010

Being a People Watcher on the Metro

I swipe my SmarTrip card, walk down the stairs and wait for my train to take me to L'Enfant Plaza. I grab a window seat, turn on my iPod to my favorite song to get me pumped for the work day ahead of me: Trey Songz "Say Ahh". I bob my head to the beat and begin to people watch. This is how I gather characters for my stories. Looking at the well-dressed men and women on their way to corporate jobs; the young security guard finishing up her night shift; the teenagers on their way to school, clad in uniforms, Jordan tennis shoes, and North Face jackets; military officers reporting for duty; medical personnel in scrubs and Birkenstocks; the homeless man "moving", with all of his life's belongings. Different hairstyles: cropped cuts, locks, weaves(some well done and others jacked up), braids, twists; streaks, spikes, straight, or spiraled; combed or uncombed. The different fragrances (or lack thereof) that burn my sinuses, while some tempt me to decipher and purchase for myself.

You can listen to young adult women speak of the drama from the weekend before, to include a "baby fawvah not calling me back" and not having enough pampers to make it through the week; you can see people on Facebook, Twitter, and other blogs, clicking away on Blackberry or iPhones, trying to keep in the know and see what other friends and family members are doing.

I use the time to just watch. Taking in my surroundings, trying to figure out what is going on in the minds of commuters. I look forward to my time on the train, because it allows me to leave the driving to someone else (I know that's a motto for Greyhound, but you know what I mean!)
Being among the Metro rail commuters has strengthened my thighs and gluteals, as I walk in the "passing" lane up AND down the escalator, in a hurry as the rest of the common folk, to arrive at my destination: work or home or school or play.

Now that my people watching is done, I must write!