“Does she have an animal in her lap?”
My wife pointed to people in front of us at the outdoor concert.
“I think it's a Chihuahua,” I said.
People often bring large dogs to the Wednesday evening concert, so I
could see why someone would hold a tiny one in her lap.
A few minutes later, when she put the
animal down and it began to nibble the grass, I realized I'd seen
what I expected. Instead, the animal at the end of the pink
leash,wearing a pink and white harness, was a brown domestic rabbit.
As the band played some tunes I didn't
recognize, I speculated about the kind of person who'd keep a pet
rabbit, then hook it onto a pink leash, and bring it to an event
well-stocked with dogs.
She had to be someone with a backstory.
Someone who'd make a great supporting cast member for a novel – if
not a protagonist. Someone with enough quirks to make unusual choices
and keep readers on their toes.
Like the little girl twirling in front
of the band, wearing a tiara equipped with a Rapunzel braid. Her
parents – or someone who knew her – had made the choice to
indulge the girl's inner princess. More people with what it takes to
enliven a novel.
Need some quirky people to round out
your cast? Attend a free public event and sit near the back. Just
don't be surprised if people around you begin pointing and whispering
about the person with a notebook.
2 comments:
Love that final line, Andy. You surprised a laugh out of me!
Airports, too, provide a wide variety of viewing opportunities. There are some real-life people out there I never could have conjured out of my imagination.
That would be one way to redeem the time stuck in an airport -- or while waiting at the DMV for a license renewal.
But given the choice, I'll take the opportunity to view the crowd at an outdoor concert or parade. I think the choice of pets -- plus the decision to bring them to a public place -- says a lot about a person.
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