Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Sunglasses can come in mighty handy

My eyes are sensitive to light, due to a stupid incident with my contact lenses 30+ years ago. That's why I always wear sunglasses when I'm in natural light. Even on cloudy days.

This has the unintended bonus of making my people watching easier. I can stare freely and the object of my scrutiny can never be totally sure where my gaze is fixed.

For example, last night I sat across from a father/son duo. The son was conversing excitedly on his phone while dad was just content to stare out the window, watching the world go by. I'd guess their ages to be about 28 and 58. What intrigued me was that, while they differed in coloring and build and manners, they had virtually the same face. The same big round eyes, the same hawkish nose, the same big forehead. Dad was clearly Hispanic, but since the son was so fair, I'm guessing Mom is Irish, Swedish or German. It was fascinating to see how Dad's genes manifested themselves in his son.

Then this morning I saw a woman in a bright orange and yellow print dress. Her shiny hair was pulled back. It was obvious that she had checked the mirror before she left the house. Yet her chin was covered in curly dark hair. It was as though she had a beard of pubes from her chin down her neck! How could she not have noticed this? Does she not care? Is she making some sort of statement?