tiny stories from the big city

I just got back from my holiday, and one of the things that struck me most was the sheer volume of  New Yorkers going about their daily lives. They were running errands, going to work, and living the kind of life that called NYC home. Everyone clearly had their own reasons for being there. Their own explanations for their actions. Their own stories to tell. And my family loved the people-watching. Living in a city like New York is so different to living in a village like ours and I for one grabbed any moment I could to step back, pause, and watch the 'show'.
Several people and situations interested more than others. There was one woman I saw swapping her flat shoes for patent heels around the corner from an office block. What was her job? Where was she walking from that she couldn't wear heels? Or just wear flats at work?
Then there's the stunning habadashery shop that we happened upon, filled with colourful and sparkly trim, run by two relatively dressed-down women. I was curious as to how you could resist trimming everything you owned with lime green pompoms, working in a place like that. I wondered if there were actually crazy buttons or funky trims on their clothes, hidden by the counter or the apron.
I even got distracted in a bookstore, one place where I'm normally completely and utterly absorbed in my shopping! A boy and his dad were walking up and down the aisles, as they collected a growing stack of dystopiaN fiction and paranormal novels. I wondered if they were all for the boy, or if his father was a fan and they were bonding over it. Had they read some of the few dystopian novels that I had enjoyed? And did the scarier elements leave them awake at night too, wondering about the world?
Most of what I saw sparked stories in my brain, and I also instantly tried to connect myself in some way to those people who interested me. I couldn't help but be curious about the whys and wherefores. Whenever I travel, there are certain people that I remember. Ones I had just briefly passed on the street, but that were so representative of a trip that I can't forget them.
Do you have any people-watching stories to tell?
xx
L