Being the Scenery

 I am getting close to the end of the rewrite of what might be called LOOMING DANGER.  There are always surprises as I fill out the characters.  It feels like they somehow exist on their own by now and have their own thoughts. One of the characters, Doris came to the yarn retreat to get a change from watching her retired husband watch TV all day and ask what was for dinner while he had breakfast.  She is glad to be out and about and  get dressed up for the Saturday night dinner at Vista Del Mar.  She says that her husband whose attire is either sweatpants or baggy shorts with a ragged T-shirt doesn't get that he's her scenery.

Okay, I admit that while Doris said it, it is something I think about.  It's why I like graphic T-shirts with fun images.  Also why I get dressed first thing in the morning.  It makes me feel together, but also gives off a cheerful impression to everyone here that I am looking forward to my day.

I am fascinated by looking at how people dress and what it tells me about them.  We were stopped at a Starbucks on the way to Disneyland.  It was late afternoon and the local high school had let out and the kids were walking through the parking lot and some came into the Starbucks.  I was curious about their clothes and what the style was.  If it reflected how they feel, then they were a joyless bunch.  The two boys who were came into the coffee place were dressed in baggy dark clothes.  Their hair was long on top and sort of fluffy.  They had drab backpacks and a slouchy demeanor.  I watched the other kids going through the parking lot and they all looked about the same.  Even the girls wore baggy clothes the color of storm clouds. 

On the opposite end of things, seeing little girls in princess costumes at Disneyland always makes me smile and think about how I imagine they feel dressed as Belle or Cinderella.