Judgments. Scene: Upstairs seating area at a largish McDonalds just after the lunchtime rush. I'm eating my dinner, on my own, with nothing to read so I'm watching the other diners.
Subject 1: A young woman in her late teens who looks miserable. She looks like a Louise. Louise is well turned out; clean, well kempt and smartly dressed in casual clothes. She's large. Not quite obese but not too far short of it. She sits on her own with her meal in front of her, slowly feeding fries into her mouth one after another. A mobile phone is glued to her ear; she's listening to something but curiously not speaking. She looks depressed. She looks like she has difficulty making friends, possibly finding it difficult to socialise with her peers due to her weight.
Another young woman arrives at the table. Louise's face lights up and suddenly they're chattering away. A third young woman arrives. Louise is obviously not the loner I thought but just a happy young woman who was having a quiet reflective moment whilst awaiting friends.
Subject 2: An older man. His age is difficult to tell. He could be 60 and looking good for his age or 40 and looking old. I suspect the latter. Obviously unshaven for several days, he wears battered jeans with an old sports or suit jacket. A collection of bags crowd his feet looking like they contain his life's belongings. He sits with no food in front of him looking through the contents of one of the bags and smiling just a little too much to himself. Obviously a homeless man cherishing the chance to sit down indoors, I wonder how long he will be able to remain before one of the staff move him on.
An old woman joins him at the table with a tray carrying two meals. She is obviously affluent. He sit ups straight and brushes himself down smoothing out his clothing. The bags of shopping are shared out between them to give his feet more room and they both look through the photographs that were contained in the bag on the table. Suddenly he looks a very healthy 60.
Subject 3: A student. Sitting at a table with the detritus of a finished meal in front of him he holds his course work in his hands in a battered A4 folder. His hair is un-brushed, his casual top and blue denim jeans un-ironed. He watches the room as I do passing the time by following little snippets of peoples lives.
Louise and her friends leave without clearing their table and suddenly he's there. No longer a student but an urban fox rummaging through the rubbish. He finds some uneaten fries and half a burger that Louise has left which he picks apart with his long thin fingers and devours as though he hasn't eaten for days.
that's a nice rock!
me:
sex:male
age:30
status:married
children:3
Listening:
Barry Diston:Unreleased Stuff
Reading:
Weblogs
Terry Pratchett
Maps
Watching:
Bugger all at the mo, to be honest
reach me
my other sites
recommended
