Sept. 7, 1999
People - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
Striesand sings, “People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.” Well, I’ll do Barbra one better and say, aren’t people interesting? I say that, because in my young life, though it feels like an eternity; I’ve run into people from all walks of life. I’m sure like anyone else, we can agree that they are all genuinely interesting. There isn’t really a difference in personality’s, though the checking account balance shows a greater difference. I was watching some old tape that chronicled the life of playwright Neil Simon. In it, he says he grew up and no one noticed him, so he noticed them. He picked up on all the conversations, the idiosyncrasies and so forth.
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been floating around, into and out of interesting situations and places. It made me think of all the interesting people I’ve met and the interesting situations that make you remember them, even after so long. I have eaten at some of this town’s swankiest establishments, and in some of the simpler joints. I notice in a restaurant, there is a common thread, even though the food could be a culture apart from the next. There are always different people in the restaurant with you, I’m saying this if the place isn’t empty. You encounter the same kinds of people, wherever you go. There’s always the person who looks like a regular, the one or ones, just trying the place out for the first time, or the extremely talkative bunch, in which you can hear everything they’re saying. All places have these kinds of people, no matter the bistro on Georgia or the burger stand out in South Surrey.
I don’t usually like riding the bus, simply because, I hate it when you can’t get a seat and you’ve got to stand. I hate standing on the bus. But, I rode on a bus a couple of days ago, and I see most people are quite restrained. Again, on the bus, another cross-section of people, but that’d be too redundant to get into. People don’t seem to like to talk to each other, seems as if you’d catch something from saying how you like or dislike the weather. There are people who know each other, and they talk, a little too loudly for me, though. I over heard three guys talking about the state of education in BC, the other day. I found it fascinating to hear this one man’s life story, in how he quit school at 17, but now at 19, turning 20 next week, he’s in 2nd year college at Langara and going to UBC next year. Are other people’s lives interesting? On this transportation binge, I was running late one day, so there was no alternative, but to take a cab. I notice that like my fellow passengers on the bus, cabbies come in all shapes, sizes and smells. The last part is a little too New York, so I’ll leave that to Dave. I’ve sat cabs, and notice how these guy’s act. I remember a driver once, who talked about anything and everything. Everything from bad female drivers to the China’s taking over of Hong Kong. There are some drivers who don’t talk at all, who keep checking for messages from dispatch or letting dispatch know they’re clearing zone 132.
I was at a theatre opening once, and I notice at the theatre, folks seem to dress up for the occasion. And the conversation going around the foyer was about someone’s new Jag or how the hedge trimmer couldn’t come today, but he’ll come Tuesday next week. Who said theatre was for the rich? Vancouver audiences at the theatre, seem like they only go there to see and be seen. They hardly pick up on the funny lines or the double-entendres, and rarely do we see a standing ovation. Also, the audiences are easily drawn to big budget pieces and big stars, shows that occasionally have no substance. I was at a concert recital for some kids who go to a summer camp, and we were at their end-of-the-summer show. They were phenomenal, better than some professional stuff, but no one hardly stood up for a standing ovation. But, at Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, they all stood up to cheer on the amazing talents of, Donny Osmond? Yes they did, except me of course.
People have these strange, but fascinating habits of nature. They are simply fascinating, because when you stop to think about it, you think to yourself., “Am I like that?”, “Do I actually do that!?” What it all boils down to it, is that we are all, practically the same. We can be painfully critical, but when it comes to looking at ourselves, that’s forbidden territory. Did I actually use, that many commas in this piece?
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