When I travel, I watch people. I try to figure out who people are and why they’re traveling. I don’t actually speak to people, though, because that might destroy the image I create in my head.

On my plane, there were two extremely well-dressed women, one a little older than me and one about 55 or so. They were calm and poised. I assume they were business women, perhaps connected to WalMart in some way (I’m in the land of WalMart). There was also a 30ish couple with two young children. I immediately pegged them as academics. And I was right. I overheard the woman tell someone they were visiting family but that her husband was a professor on the east coast. Also, there were two youngish couples, one possibly not quite 30 and another mid30s (how old do I feel that I thought these couples were young!). They were stylish, seemingly most interested in looking good. I imagined they had beautiful houses with well manicured lawns. There were also two men in the 50s or early 60s, smartly dressed in slacks and sweaters and really nice shoes. Their hair was neatly cut. I imagined they played golf and worked only 3 or 4 days a week. They had money.

I wonder what people peg me as.

It’s interesting to see land between stuff. I’m so used to every square inch being taken up with development.