The Watcher

A friend came to talk about his book (yes yes that's me all important editor), we shall call him Organized Writer, to differentiate from Mad Writer, and we ended up talking about the people we know in common and how their brains work.

So CB's brain is like a very neat, self-contained spiral, going smoothly, logically, rationally and methodically from level to level of every idea. MW's brain is completely insane, fizzing and spitting and dancing all over the place--like Brownian motion on crack. OW's brain is also fairly random, but with some underlying structure, either previously imposed or something it's working towards. Youngest Member will keep fiddling till he gets it. (This was all much better with the actions, which is how it actually transpired.) So then I said, what about me?

And he said, you? you're sitting here on the side, watching.

I have never had someone nail me down so perfectly. I'm a watcher.

I need to sit facing the maximum number of exits in any room, or the maximum amount of the room possible, which I joke about being related to having been a drug lord in a previous birth, but really, it's the best way to keep an eye on what's going on.

I love knowing things about people--even if I don't know them, or never will, I really, really, REALLY need to know all their stories.

I love being in groups of people at home, where I can watch my friends, what they're doing, how they're reacting to people and things.

I love sitting in the middle of a crowded place and watching people go by. I used to sit on a bench in the median on Broadway and watch people.

I love going to places and discussing what people are wearing, saying, might be thinking...

I love watching things and extrapolating things from what I see. I love watching humanity and trying to figure out what makes people tick. Maybe that's why I'm so madly social.

And the clincher? I'm an EDITOR! I WATCH BOOKS BEING WRITTEN!