I think I'd like to follow someone. The idea of, I don't know, surveiling is kind of appealing and romantic in a black and white movie kind of way.

At this point, I think it's important that we get one thing straight. I am not talking about stalking someone. I'm really not that kind of girl. What I have in mind is more of a wholesome, natural curiosity satisfying, girl detective sort of thing.

You wonder too, don't you, about those people you see every day, on your way to or from work or school, or at the grocery store, or at the newstand on Sunday mornings when you go to get the paper? Those people you see over and over again, but whose lives you've only seen the tiniest part of?

How much do you think I could find out about someone just by following them on their walk from the subway station to their home? Maybe they would light a cigarette the moment they stepped out into the light. Maybe there would be a phone call, at a payphone along the way, or on their cellphone as they walked. Angry words or soft murmuring? Or frustration, or tears? There could be a stop at a grocery store. Vegatarianism borne out of a fondness for animals? Low sugar diet signaling diabetes? Video stores, libraries, there are so many possibilities. Marriage? Children? Divorce? Alcoholism? I think, given time, I could learn a lot.

Is this silly? I'd like some firsthand evidence that we aren't all that different from one another. I'd like to see myself, at least a little bit, in a stranger. And it seems fun, all sunglasses, and hats, and furtive note taking, and ducking into doorways. Okay, so it is silly. That doesn't mean it isn't worth doing, does it?