Fired up the mobile office today, destination: Panera, somewhere on the West Side of Cincinnati. No, I'm not trying to be elusive about my whereabouts, I'm really not sure what this part of town is called. It's about a 40 minute trek from my office and as far as Paneras go, is only moderately busy with the type of customers this establishment prefers. Customers who come in, purchase their items and LEAVE, not the squatter type who enter with laptops and stacks of books/papers in hand and buy the ENDLESS cup of coffee, just camping out. I am NOT that squatter, I actually had a great breakfast and now am making my coffee last while I kill, (I mean spend) another hour here.
I had every intention of accomplishing a few of my Need-to-Do items this morning, just to keep in sync with my Type A, over-achiever, one-touch, cross it off the list and it's done personality. But the overheard conversations mixed with the relaxing classical music and the pull of my Twitterverse from Tweetdeck are keeping me off that chosen path. I am a lover of human behaviour, which is why I have a degree in Psychology, so I am continually fascinated by how people interact with each other.
This morning, I set myself up at a table that happened to be near two elderly men who were engrossed in a riveting discourse on faith and the Holy Spirit. One spoke with such a depth of knowledge, that I took another glance to see if he was a Catholic priest. He was dressed in secular clothes, but I did hear him mention being in the seminary later in their conversation. As additional patrons entered Panera, it was clear that many people knew these men and that this was a morning ritual for them.
Last week, my mobile office was parked in the Wyoming branch of the Cincinnati Public Library. There, I saw a veteran of WWII approach a young man of about college age with the New York Times in his hands. "Excuse me son," he said. "I want you to know that the New York Times has free obitiuaries and I am older than everyone listed here. Still alive and kicking! The secret to a good life is having a good wife." He pointed to his smiling wife and then launched into stories of his time in the great war and the injuries he had sustained. I am not a fan of history, in fact I hated the subject in high school and took elective classes like anthropology and psychology instead, but found this live re-stating of history absolutely fascinating.
I'm thinking about declaring Fridays #MobileFriday and tweeting my experiences live as I blog about the people I encounter across the City of Cincinnati. This will surely feed my writing soul as well as my need to connect deeply with others.
Who knows, perhaps this will turn into a book and be published long before Gabrielle and John unite in RL after a year of a virtual gaming relationship. Confused?? It's my novel that has been sitting on ice for 2 yrs now......
So follow me on Twitter and see what happens.
Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009
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