Nutz: Chasing a Noodle

I used to be indecisive... now I'm not so sure. 
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Old People Watching

Those who know me well will know that I've recently become very interested in psychology and body language. I enjoy people watching. Interestingly, I looked up the description of 'people watching' in Wikipedia, and it says:

People watching "is the act of observing people and their interactions, usually without their knowledge." Perfecto! It then goes on to point out that "this differs from voyeurism in that it does not relate to sex or sexual gratification".... well, thank goodness for that - it isn't a fetish afterall. Supposing I were to do it whilst wearing a latex suit?

Apparently, "eavesdropping may accompany the activity, though is not required." - that's useful to know. I can put my telephone bugging equipment back in the drawer...

What I find particularly interesting about body language is how people's individual mannerisms result from a mixture of evolution and their upbringing. Body language will often give away how a person thinks or feels before any kind of verbal communication. With older people, you can often pick up whether they've had an easier or more difficult life by the way that they look and the postures that they adopt.

Living where I do allows for another side of people watching that I would like to call Old People Watching. Where-as normal people watching involves spotting mannerisms, old people watching is much more 'edge-of-the-seat' stuff. As an example, this afternoon I was sitting in a cafe and observed an elderly pensioner take his life into his own hands by stepping out and crossing a busy road without looking in either direction. Rather than hypothesising about whether his posture suggested he had endured a difficult life, I was instead contemplating about his likelihood of being run over by a Citroen Van... resulting in him adopting a more horizontal, flat posture... with a tyre print across his chest.

It appears that I'm not the only person who derives enjoyment from old people watching - there's even a Facebook group called "Watching Old People Cross The Road". Having said that, there are only 46 members at present (47 now!).

So.... why did the old man cross the road?

A-walk-in-the-park2

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