Time to spare

The other day, I was sauntering back from work when I noticed a crowd amassing in collective rapture typical of when a celebrity is on scene. Of course, I tried to elbow my way to the front, but to know avail. (This world has little sympathy for the small people, let me tell ya.) Glancing at the faces, I surmised that whoever the celebrity was, they hadn't arrived as yet. Everyone stood rooted to their spots, waiting in patient zombiism for the celebrity arrival.

Not my kind of scene as a norm, but curiosity got the better of me. I tried to crane my neck to find clues of whom the celebrity might be, but nothing of significance that my shrewd sleuthing could discern. So I approached a chap standing patiently at the fringes. "Excuse me, could you tell me who the expected celebrity is please?"
"No idea," he shrugged with an embarrassed smile.
"You don't know?!" I couldn't believe he was still waiting there.
"Nope, but I figured if the crowd's so big it must be someone pretty cool."
Fair enough, I suppose.

So I approached a couple who were staring at the centre-stage with bated breath, and looked like they'd surely know what was going on. "Excuse me, could you tell me who the expected celebrity is please?"
"No idea," they shrugged collectively.

I couldn't believe it. I was about to turn to the girl next to them when she pre-empted my question, "and before you ask me, honey, I have no idea either."

Seriously? Yep. A bunch of time-whiler-awayers.

Speaking of whiling away time aimlessly, I was walking through Union Square park early this morning on my way to work, and I noticed it was full of elderly, retired people, lazing on the benches with their newspapers, sipping their morning coffee and solving their crosswords. I was tempted to whip out a sudoku book and show them how the world had moved on. But mostly, I was just envious of the fact that I still had to go to work, while they could linger in the warmth in the park.

I can't wait till I'm retired and can do crosswords in the park all day!