People Watching

(Written en route in Arizona, posted in New Orleans)

It’s quite an experience to sit for a couple of hours in the Los Angeles Union Station … as I did this past Sunday, waiting to board the Sunset Limited. People! All types, all sizes, all colors, in a constant stream… coming from trains, rushing to catch trains, meeting friends and family. An amazing number of people for a Sunday morning.

There was a 40ish man wearing a Red Sox cap and a Lakers T-shirt, either playing it safe or schizophrenic.

There was a cute little Asian girl – not more than two years old – who ran out into the main aisle of the waiting area and shrieked, “Mommy!” Seconds later she was scooped up and hugged by a Caucasian woman.

There was a young man, movie-star handsome, except for the stainless steel ring through his lower lip and the Mohawk haircut.

There was the dignified middle-aged woman who circulated through the cavernous waiting room every half hour, carefully removing empty plastic bottles and soda cans from the 25 or 30 trash containers placed around the room.

More to come.