Today is the birthday in 1904 of Moss Hart, a New York playwright and a theater guy who worked with some of the biggest names on Broadway (Irving Berlin, George S. Kaufman) and won a Pulitzer for “You Can’t Take It With You.”
You would have to include him in your list of 1940’s New York sophisticates (he married Kitty Carlisle, famous for being on the TV game show “To Tell The Truth”) even though Hart grew up far from the bright lights of Broadway. His first visit to Times Square happened when he was 12 years old and he did it on the sly, running an errand for the owner of the music store where he worked, purposely NOT asking his mother for permission to go, as he was told to do.
The family struggled to make ends meet, but somehow there was always money for his eccentric Aunt Kate to go to the theater. It may have been allowed because she brought some of the glamour of Broadway back into the house. In his autobiography, “Act One”, Hart says the family was “grateful for this small patch of lunatic brightness in the unending drabness of those years.”
“My mother and I always waited up for her return, and then she would re-create the entire evening for us. She was a wonderful reporter. She had a fine eye for irrelevant detail and a good critical sense of acting values. Her passion for the theater did not include being overwhelmed by it, nor was she a blind idolater of stars. She always sat in the gallery, of course, but she always got to the theater early enough to stand in the lobby and watch the audience go in – in order, as she expressed it, to get all there was to get! She must have been a strange figure indeed, standing in the lobby, her eyes darting about, “getting” everything there was to get, her conversation, if she spoke to anyone, a mixture of Clyde Fitch and Thomas Hardy; her own clothes a parody of the fashionable ladies going into the theater. But little indeed did escape her and she regaled us with all of it, from the audience arriving to the footlights dimming, and then the story of the play itself. She would smooth out the program on the kitchen table, and there we would sit, sometimes until two o’clock in the morning, reliving the play …”
I admire anyone who can be such a keen observer and instant – playback storyteller. It’s not unusual to hear someone say that they enjoy people watching, but it is one thing to have a great eye for detail, quite another to have clear recall, and still another to be able to act it out coherently. Aunt Kate may have been aided in her dramatic re-creations by a touch of insanity, but regardless, she is a major character in the Moss Hart story. Her obsession with the stage may be responsible for the creation of some lasting works from the pen of her fascinated nephew.
Are you a people watcher? And do you remember anything you see?
Trail Baboon 
good morning, All
yes, i’m a people watcher. don’t like to talk – like to watch. state fair, waiting at the doctor, almost anywhere. and i eavesdrop on conversations also. and i like to make up stories about what’s going on.
long ago, at the National Gallery of Art, i was sitting on a bench and waiting for Steve. a man was walking from painting to painting and all the while, furiously writing on a small sheet of paper. “oh,” i thought to myself, “some really smart, art-knowledgeable person taking notes for a class he teaches somewhere.” he looked so intense. so in the know.
then, after about 10 minutes of this, he licked the back of the paper and stuck it to his forehead and walked away.
another example of my keen powers of observation 🙂
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That’s very funny, barb.
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i had that guy for an art teacher.
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tim – it might be fun to have a really eccentric person for a teacher – especially in art, huh? not affected but truly eccentric. or at least willing to let the students think she/he was eccentric. 🙂
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they are all that way to a point. i loved taking art at the u of m in the early 70’s. it was a bunch of the abstract expressioninsts who grew up in art with jackson plooack, willem de kooning franz kline and hans hoffman, the way they taught was very cool and laid back. all of them were clearly so far removed from the everyday guy on the street. there were meticilious ones who worked in one type of media to another who worked in another media, each disipline has a different nmentality about it and the media chooses the artist as much as the artist chooses the media. it was great and the people watching was wonderful there for sure.
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The State Fair is a great place to people watch. Humanity in all it’s glorious permutations on display.
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Rise and Shine Baboons!
I love people-watching. Lake Calhoun is my favorite spot for this activity, although I have not done this for years. It was easier to access when I worked in Uptown. Note to self–put this on my list of things to do next spring. Years ago, when I first moved to the Twin Cities and everything was new and exciting as compared to Iowa culture, I spent a lot of time at Calhoun, soaking it all in. Such a display of flagrant eccentricity just did not occur along the gravel roads of Iowa.
On one trip there was a young man on roller skates wearing tight, tight, tight sparkling lime green velour short shorts and no shirt. He was a skilled roller skater who was there to strut his stuff, roller skating and otherwise, speeding, twirling, spinning. He got a lot of attention.
Then there was the bicyclist. A middle-aged man was riding a child’s 20″ bicycle. He was wearing very baggy shorts. And no underwear. Which I still believe was purposeful. A subtle flasher.
BTW, Friday night we saw John Lithgow at the Fitz talking about his new memoir. GK interviewed him as part of his author interviews. His memoir is outstanding! Interesting, candid, fascinating. People-watching was the purpose of this evening, and he is a great entertainer.
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Julie Andrew’s Memoir, Home, talks a lot about Moss Hart very affectionately.
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heard him on phc this weekend. sounded like an interesting person
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i just ordered the book. thanks, Jacque!
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people watching is one of my favorite things. concerts plays shows are the usual spots but shopping, going about my daily routine with trips to various offices downtown buildings etc. these are prime people watching territory too. it is interesting the variations between one concert at ordway and on at the cedar cultural center, the difference between minnesota and florida or new your is obvious. the burbs vs the city, the country vs the city. is my recap of the things i’ve seen worth a darn? i’m the wrong guy to ask. i think i’m fine but i’ll bet you and i would come up with different stories at the same event. thats part of the beauty of getting out of bed in the morning.
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i used to work in the Health Sciences division at the U of MN. the U is great for people watching just because there are so many distinctive people on display. but in spring the area around the Health Sciences buildings were frequented by thousands of young women with stunningly healthy young bodies, and there were whole days when i scarcely gave a thought to my job.
i won’t be posting much today. have a lovely day, dear friends.
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i do like that kind of people watching in particular
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and i particularly enjoy the details remembereed
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I’m not so sure I would categorize that as people watching! Seems more like ogling or voyeurism to me. Semantics, I guess.
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It was both!
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there is a fine line between people watching something else. i smile when you say this pj remembering the person who said he feels like a degenerate every time he walks into the lingerie department at target or walmart. its people watching if it interesting looking people and only ok if you are not attracted or find pleasure in looking at someone according to the vibe you are sending and i am not sure i agree. i have a friend who is a very beautiful woman who has always had the problem of being taken seriously because she has to get past the physical attractiveness to get to the real stuff. it has to work both ways but i don’t know how to get around the initial impulse/observation.
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tim, I’m an old bird, but I’m not dead – yet. I think I detect that what’s implied, as I think it was in Steve’s statement above, that he was doing what a lot of young men indulge in, namely “bird watching.” I’m not suggesting there’s something wrong or degenerate with it, merely that it’s in a different category than people watching.
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an old bird who enjoys bird watching. hmmmm. *:)*
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My favorite work assignment is watching the children in the Head Start program. I get to observe in each classroom every year. There has been a lot of research done on the accuracy of eyewitnesses of crimes. We are far less accurate than we would like to think, so inaccurate, in fact, that it is a wonder anyone is ever convicted on the basis of eyewitness accounts.
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How true: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sISWPzEqHLQ
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People watching is one of life’s simple pleasures. You can do it anywhere, and it’s free. Airports, train stations, bus depots, restaurants, sporting and cultural events, shopping malls, supermarkets, city parks, you name it, are all places that lend themselves to this pastime. Some places attract people that are more fun to observe than others, and, as tim pointed out, what you’re likely to see, also is flavored by where you are; I’ve seen some pretty weird people on Venice Beach in California. That’s my perspective, of course, they, in turn, probably thought me terribly dull and boring.
Do I remember what I see? That depends, some people leave a more delible impression than others. I’ll never forget an older couple I saw at a Preservation Hall concert in New Orleans many moons ago; they could have been models for Imogen Cunningham. In fact, I was convinced they had been until I spoke with them at the end of the concert. They told me that no, they had never modeled for her; they were retired teachers in their late eighties enjoying a few days in the French Quarter of their favorite city.
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Venice, CA is my hometown! I always used to say that you could walk down the boardwalk naked with a table on your head and no one would bat an eye! It was great!
txutxi
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and I, for one, would believe you.
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welcome back txutsi, good to see you again. i have that problem here on the blog often. i sit in the tub with a table on my head and no one ever notices that either.
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Good morning to all,
Telling stories about people that I know or have observed is one of my favorite things. Many of the stories do not come from passive people warching because I am involved in some way. The causual observations do not stick in my memory very well. There are a lot of stories I could tell about people in my community which I probably shouldn’t tell.
Many of my stories come from sub teaching. I remember a girl who I became aquainted with when she was in middle school. She sat in the front of the class and was very neat and well mannered. She was in several classes I taught and was always quiet and very neat. Several years latter when she was in high school she was much different, going for wild sloopy clothes, a hair style that was also wild, and a loud way of talking. However, she still was very likeable. I don’t know why she decided to make such a big change in her style.
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finally got to pick out her own clothes.
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🙂
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Here is another memory from sub teaching. From one of my first years of subbing I have a memory of a boy whose hurt feelings caused him to be so sad that he left the room crying. Somehow I never forgot that sad scene and later in my years of subbing I taught the same boy when he was in high school. In high school I think he was still a sensitive looking boy who had developed a slightly “punk” style with worn blue genes, a slightly outrageous t-shirt, and long hair.
It looked to me like he was still somewhat shy and protective of his feelings, but was able to partly hide this with his “I don’t care what you think” punkish style. Of course, like most of my observations, I could have been completely wrong about what I thought.
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There was a boy in my high school class that was extremely sensitive and would cry easily and have to leave the classroom. He had a really hard time. I always felt a little sorry for him and defended him from other classmates. Bullies are everywhere at that age, and it must have been very hard for him to go through high school. He was a math geek and he is probably way more successful than a lot of those bullies!
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I enjoy people watching – and some folks I remember in great detail, others less so. What I will admit to, though, is making up my own stories about the people I see. I have entire back stories written in my head for some members of the MN Orchestra (my mind wanders some at concerts…what can I say?…but I’m pretty sure that one of the bass violin players also grows his own tomatoes to make the best pasta dishes this side of the Atlantic, and that violin player towards the back coaches pee-wee football). The person waiting at the bus stop as I drive by might be going home to an apartment in desperate need of cleaning, but also full of fabulous art (and a calico cat). The couple who appear a little less-than-sober are on their way home to continue a celebration related to a recent reconciliation (the man had been “stepping out” on his gal – the cad!). The man out running in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt is not so much exercising as loosening his brain so he can go home and finish a design project with too many mis-matched requirements…
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I have been accused of telling stories about people that I think are probably true which others think are far from the truth.
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I don’t think I have much of a memory for detail, at least not when it comes to visual detail. I hope I never get asked to describe a perpetrator in a criminal act, because unless the person was wearing something like a gorilla suit, I’m unlikely to be able to remember anything distinctive about him. I’m more likely to remember interactions and things people say to each other.
The bus is a good place for peoplewatching. Kevin Kling famously recommends the 21A, but the 16 down University Avenue will do nicely too. Not too long ago I was sitting at the back of the bus and a woman got on with her active youngster and wearily sat down in one of the sideways-facing seats over the back wheel wells, carrying plastic Aldi bags and wearing a very sullen expression. The little boy sat down for only an instant and then was up again as if he was spring-loaded, climbing on seats to look out the windows. Without moving the woman said, “Jamar. Come over here so I can bust you in the mouth.” I considered for a moment whether this might be a potential case for Child Protection, but she didn’t seem particularly angry and the boy happily ignored her – pointing out the window at buildings and naming the places he recognized. This continued for a couple of miles or so, the boy bouncing off the walls and the woman repeating the same command in a bored tone of voice – “Jamar. Come here so I can bust you in the mouth.” Finally he went and sat down next to her, and with a great show of manners folded his hands in his lap and looked up at her with his most winning smile. She turned her head and looked down at him with just a hint of a smile turning up one side of her mouth. Neither of them said a word. I got off a couple of blocks later.
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Nicely written! Busses are great places for people watching… I love when people get on the bus and recognize someone they know, they kind of light up as they go and talk to the acquaintance.
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I’m not sure why, but I seem to attract strange people on busses. They’ll plop themselves down next to me and proceed to tell me intimate details about their lives or rant and rave about something they’re upset about, no matter how much I try to discourage them by being unresponsive. Perhaps they sense that I’m too polite to be downright rude to them, and of course they realize they have a captive audience, at least until the next stop. More than once I’ve have gotten off before my destination to get away from one such intruder.
I find it intriguing that you can sometimes sit 8 to 10 hours next to someone on a plane without any conversation whatsoever, and on a train ride from Seattle to Portland can learn the life stories of your fellow travelers.
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nice vignette linda, well done
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Morning–
I love to people watch. Although from my position in the light booth at the back of the auditorium I see the backs of their heads. Course I can see how their game of solitare on their smart phone is going too… and which ones really are taking notes like they tell the teacher. (Not many).
I’ll notice shoes, rings, and who has a nice smile but not be able to tell you how tall they are or what color their hair is.
I can go home and give Kelly every boring detail of my day. When asked about her day, ‘Eh’. shrug, ‘Not much happen….’ drives me crazy!
Have a good one everyone!
Ben
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How the hell can a person, go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening, and have nothing to say?
John Prine, “Angel From Montgomery”
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It would be nice to hear about what someone has been doing all day at work. On the other hand, lots of stuff that can happen at work isn’t too wonderful and it may be nice to not even think about it or talk about it very often at home.
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I know for sure that during the last four or five years of my work, husband would have been way better off with me NOT talking about what was happening; it was that crazy. Of course, that’s when you need your partner to listen most, but it’s certainly not easy.
Now, when I can pick and choose how I spend my day, our conversations are a lot more pleasant, interesting and stimulating. He’s fortunate to love his job and most of the people he works with, so his occasional complaints are much, much easier to deal with.
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I even have some things happening to me among the things I try to do in retirement that aren’t always good to talk about. Perhaps I should reduce the time spent trying to do things that can be frustrating.
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I’ve always wondered what those John Prine lines meant. I think he is saying that it defies his understanding that someone could go through a day and simply not be moved by anything. That is incomprehensible.
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My office is next door to my husband’s office. We spend most of our waking and sleeping hours in very close proximity. We always have things to talk about. It is a really good thing we like each other, since it would be pretty hellish if we didn’t.
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my wife and i tried working together early on in our relationship and found out that didn’t work at all. i officed at home for years and she would come home for summer vacation and hang with the kids and i would need to get my mantra working overtime to keep the walls from tumblleing down. its nice you enjoy each other.congrats
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Love the stories, ‘Booners. I enjoy watching the peole who go by on their way into “my” nature park almost next door. My favorite was a young woman jogging behind one of those sturdy strollers – in her right hand was a book that she would glance down to occasionally, and in her left hand a leash from which a large happy dog trotted.
Once when I was walking down in said park, I realized I was gaining on a woman whom I though was maybe reading while walking. No, she was just walking slowly, looking mostlhy down, and the closer I got, I realized it was slowly and deliberately. She may have been practicing some meditative sort of walking, a la Tich Naht Hanh’s book that I used to have. I was tempted to slow down and try to emulate what she was doing, but decided that might be rude, and finally passed her.
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I think it’s natural to enjoy watching other people. I think we learn about ourselves by observing others. I’m especially fascinated by other people when I’m in urban settings because of the variety of people. It’s pretty homogeneous around here.
I tend to remember moods, affects, tones, colors, music and designs. When I remember a conversation I had with someone, I can usually remember what music was playing or what the room was like at the time. I remember conversations that stimulate me, but I usually pick up on nonverbal messages very easily. I’m often left with an impression of who or what a person is rather than what has been said. I guess I’m not very reliable as far as remembering what I saw or heard, but I will remember for years the impression that I received. I think this is part of the Myers-Briggs INFP personality type. I’m not sure it really serves me all that well.
I’ve been catching up on the last few days – wow, you guys really had a great time! I have a hard time remembering rules for games. I used to play backgammon a lot but I don’t remember how anymore. Puzzles are fun because the rules aren’t so difficult to remember!
WOT – my mom backed out of her garage on Saturday morning and took out the driver side headlight on my car. She came back in the house and hollered, “Kris, you need to move your car!” So much for that headlight!
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I wonder how many other INFPs there are in this baboon crowd.
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I think I’ve taken it (the Myers Briggs?) but can’t remember. Wonder if it’s online…
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If I recall correctly I am ENTP…it’s been awhile, though – I mostly remember I was definitely an E, pretty sure I was a T, and even though the results came back J, the tester thought I was more likely a P because of the questions I asked when I suspected the J wasn’t quite right…
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I’m an INFP, and yes, I’m impressionable in the same way.
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e and p here the middle two were border line. i think i am an f and i like to think i can be happy as a i but that darn old s just keeps sticking its head in.
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Wow, I’m in the minority here. I’m not much of a people watcher. I do watch people sometimes but in rather a detached, not-paying-much attention way. I would rather be looking at something like rocks by Lake Superior, moss on the side of a hiking trail, a waterfall, small wildflowers, thimbleberries…you get the idea.
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Wildflower-watching skills are transferable. You can always diversify into people if you like.
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And, once again, they’re not mutually exclusive; you can do both!
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I forgot a few things…stars (as in stars in the sky not hollywood stars), spiderwebs with dew, great blue herons.
I do some people watching, but I have to be in the mood and/or the people have to be particularly interesting. I’m just not in the mood that often. If I have to be around a lot of people, then I would rather watch than do something where I would be noticed. I don’t know all the letters of my personality type, but I’m pretty sure that the first one is a very big I.
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i love looking at funny looking peoples kids. they are generally a chip off the old block and then they go out and find some other funny looking person who looks like them and they maay and have kids and when they go people watching they look over at my family and say look at that funny looking family….
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Supermarket at dinner hour isn’t usually my favorite time for shopping, but once in a while you just need something that can’t wait. Probably because of today’s topic, I took notice of a shopper who joins the category “How do they do it?” In one of those huge shopping carts with space for two toddlers, she managed 4 children under 10: twin boys with fuzzy hair, looking a little like mini-Drew Carys, and two girls maybe 6 and 8 in bright pink tops (twins also??) who had clearly been told to hang on to the cart, one of them actually riding on the side. No one was crying, whining, or grabbing anything off the shelves. The mother seemed calm, and everything seemed to be under control. She’s one of my heroes.
Clyde is one who has people watching skills down to a science. I always enjoy his vignettes of the day… I believe he said he’d be absent from the blog for a couple of days.
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…that should be “maybe 6 or 8″…
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maybe they’re 7.
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