Sunday, December 28, 2008

WHAT DO WE SEE

I look into the crowd. It comprises youngsters, no one older than thirty, no one younger than eighteen, mostly white faces but some diversity. I see two black men, no black women. A couple of men, maybe more, could have African roots. There are a few I would identify as Latinos and Latinas. A few Asians. I see no clue as to the geography or demographic. The lettering I see on T-shirts is mostly hidden and incomplete. It is warm weather, shirtsleeve weather. Many individuals wear sunglasses. There are at least three who wear regular spectacles, no four. Maybe more.

Their eyes are not focused on the same thing. Many of them are looking my direction, but many are not. I would say the majority of them are looking my way. One man is looking down, as if concentrating on his cell phone or PDA. One guy is looking definitely way off to the side. So is one woman. She is standing in front of him, and it's as if something has distracted them, for the majority is looking my direction, if not directly looking at me. One guy had his hand up to his ear, as if adjusting an earbud.

Their dress is casual. I don't see anybody with a dress-shirt and tie. One guy I see has on a button-down collar. Most are simple T-shirts. Men seem to predominate, but of course the women are shorter on the whole, and it is more difficult to see them then it is the men. There's another guy, who's looking down toward the ground. And way back there, there is another guy looking off to the side like the two nearer the front I mentioned earlier.

The predominant character is almost directly in the middle of the shot, a taller white guy, light-complected, maybe a redhead. He has glasses and a pleasant smile. It looks as though he might have something over his ear, like a Bluetooth device of some sort. He is wearing an orange sweatshirt with a strap over his shoulder indicating he is carrying something, a bag or a camcorder case. There is lettering on his sweatshirt, an identifiable "x" and maybe a letter "a" after that. I guess it could be Texas, but it is only guess. The two black guys are on either side of him and slightly behind him. There is another white guy in front of him, slightly to his right. He isn't centrally located, however, and doesn't stand out as much.

It's probably a crowd at a college or university. My guess.

Mankind is diverse. And it also runs the gamut from perversion to saintliness. Where am I within it? What does what I see in the crowd say about me?

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