From where I sit, life is a parade.

There were two boys who walked by, in jeans that were unnecessarily baggy, huge sunglasses, and baseball caps. Everything was hunky dory until they started talking - "Aiiiiighhht dawg, whurd chu geht dem shews? Whurd chu get dem? Aiiiiigghhh, ah se ya laahterrr!!"
I barely resisted the urge to ask if their mama ever told them they were white, or that they live in Bend, where nobody, absolutely NOBODY, is a legit gangsta, boi.

I spend enough time at Bellatazza that I have started to make friends with the other regulars. Chuck, a distinguished older gentleman who always has a golden retriever with him, is also rooting for the Celtics. However, we agree that the Lakers will win game six tonight in LA, which will make my wish for a game seven come true.

Teenage girls walk by in chattering, arm waving, giggling, texting waves. I'm struck by the fact that after a while - they all look the same. It's not that everybody is wearing identical cardigans or the same shade of gray, or that or even that the entire population's jeans have the same wash. You see, there is such a wide variety of fashions being worn right now that nobody looks unique. Looking "different" has become the trend, and so everyone looks the same because everyone different. There is nothing that isn't being done by someone else. Out is in, in is in, everything is in. Literally, everything. The athletic look, the indie look, the hipster look, the "I don't give a ****" look.... everything is everywhere, and it's all started to get so mashed together that the only way to stick out is to run around naked.

There are also dozens of little kids accompanied with their parents. I love seeing them the most, because their smiles are genuine. They're not concerned about mortgage payments or final grades, they couldn't care less about what he said to her last night.

Even the bird that keeps fluttering around by my table has joined the parade of life that walks by me - he makes everybody smile.

You can learn a lot about people from watching them watch other people.

For example, I just saw a guy and girl cross the street. When a car waved them across, he put his hand on the small of her back, as if to make sure she wouldn't stumble. He was looking out for her.

Other groups of people are constantly looking around for someone they know, someone to say hello to. A walk down the street is a social occurrence in their life, and they're ready to make the most of it.

Even as I write this, there is a couple sitting at the counter behind me, and I'm sure they're wondering what I've been writing.

That's one of the things I love about life - someone is watching you watch someone else who is watching that other guy. I love it because it means that in some small way, we're all the same.