You can tell the families of tourists. It’s not just the sneakers and the cameras. The adults have a dogged, purposeful expression. Just seen attraction two-of-five; three-of-five is next, gotta get our money’s worth. The kids look bored unto death.
One of the best parts of travelling is sitting down and watching the guys in greatcoats and chic haircuts, the people loading and unloading, the pathologically thin women in orthopedically crippling shoes. The cops making sure the guy sleeping in the church doorway is sleeping.
The best part of watching travellers (for those of us counted amongst the non-travellers) is in small part that it reminds us what a fascintating and diverse city we live in.
But in larger part it should remind ALL of us that WHEREVER we live we should look at our surroundings with a constantly evolving eye and that we can always see new and exciting things amongst the mundane.
I learned this many years ago from a story George Will wrote in “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.
In much too brief a synopsis… he tells of a 7 year old who gets excited when told that behind the door is a fire breathing dragon. But his younger brother gets just as excited when told simply that his older brother is behind the door. Will’s point was that we tend to lose our childlike joy of experiencing new things.
So true!
Oops, I gave a bit too much credit to G. Will.
The title of his book is of course “The Pursuit of Happiness and Other Sobering Thoughts” and not as I’d written before.