Monday, August 11, 2014

Oh, Those Characters

As you probably know by now, I'm a bit of a sports nut. I spent a few days down in Toronto last week watching tennis at the Rogers Cup. AMAZING!

I put some of my People Watching games into action and got all kinds of ideas for new characters. A few of my favourites were:

  • the couple who'd finally got an evening free without the kids and had scooted out in such a hurry, they'd forgotten their tickets (had email proof and still got in) and their sweaters (would have never let the kids out of the house without them!) and their wallets (so were unable to buy sweatshirts). They snuggled all night to keep warm!
  • the couple with two kids who were wide eyed at seeing their heroes up close and who were thrilled to find people who were able to 'talk tennis' with them despite a bit of a language barrier
  • the couple wearing extremely expensive and chic clothing (3 piece suit, silk dress, high heels, wowza jewelry) who brought in a cooler of food and drinks to avoid the high priced snacks. They made egg salad sandwiches at 10 pm!
  • the pizza vendor who insisted I sing a verse of MargaritaVille with him before he'd sell me a slice of his delicious Margarita pizza!
  • the elderly lady with her pompoms, signs and noise makers who stood up and cheered VERY loudly when one of the players changed his shirt during the change over
  • the man who must have asked me 10 times if I'd really driven 8 hours on the highway "all in one day????"
  • the man who stated loudly he was a tennis expert and his date could ask him anything she wanted. He proceeded to make several errors in his tutorials, and despite the giggles around them, no one corrected him and his date appeared to be very impressed with his 'knowledge'
And so many more! How about you? Did you see any interesting characters on your vacations this summer?

21 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's half the fun of a live sporting event - the oddball fans.
Although the couple with expensive clothing who brought their own food were really odd. They didn't bring their butler to make the sandwiches for them?

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I love people watching at games. It's usually more entertaining than the game itself.

Why is 8 hours so shocking? I've driven 15 in one day before.

Anonymous said...

I don't really go to games. I only went once when I had to and it was interesting watching people. It's a varied bunch.

Mason Canyon said...

Such an interesting array of people is one thing that makes sporting events or any large gathering more fun. Of the group you mentioned, I'm not sure which is funnier but I'd probably go with the couple wearing the expensive clothes. :) The first couple that forgot everything sounds priceless.

Jemi Fraser said...

Alex - that wouldn't have surprised me - the egg salad totally cracked me up!!

Diane - exactly! I didn't think 8 hours was anywhere close to anyone's limits!!

Medeia - yes - the crowd can be as much fun as the game :)

Mason - they really were priceless - I don't think they get babysitters often! :)

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Isn't that fun? And now we can watch people on FB and either read between the lines or make stuff up.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I haven't gone on vacation yet but I'm going to take notes like you did. People are funny.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

The people who were so excited about ditching the kids made me laugh! I can totally see that happening. Looks like a fun evening and some great characters!

Anonymous said...

Can't remember the last time I've been to a sporting event of any kind. I don't get much of a chance to do any people watching because I'm such a homebody. Used to be able to people watch when I took my son to the park, but that was years ago.

cleemckenzie said...

I see at least four novels here, Jemi! You must go to game more often! :-)

Jemi Fraser said...

Teresa - my plan was to join FB this summer, but I haven't done that yet! :)

Susan - they really are! Have fun on yours :)

Elizabeth - we definitely did things like that when the kids were younger - it was such a thrill to be out! :)

Susanne - we're all sports nuts, so it definitely gives me lots of chances to people watch :)

Lee - I know! There are so many stories out there waiting for us to grab!

DEZMOND said...

our Novak didn't last for long at the Rogers Cup this year :( But he is still World's number one :)

Anita Saxena said...

These are all great! Such characters!

Jemi Fraser said...

Dezzy - he really didn't play well at all against Tsonga. I wondered if he was ill!

Anita - it was such fun watching them all! :)

Carol Kilgore said...

Love Margarita pizza - and I know the words to Margaritaville LOL! Now I'm hungry.

I've seen some characters, but not as interesting as yours :)

JeffO said...

8 hours isn't so bad, as long as you're getting somewhere. It's a lot worse spending an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic than it is cruising on the open highway. Glad you had fun!

Jemi Fraser said...

Carol - you could have joined in our duet! :)

Jeff - exactly! 8 hours just isn't that long for a drive. Bumper to bumper would send me off the deep end!!

Michelle Wallace said...

A bunch of interesting characters... and you could split them amongst 4 or 5 stories... the possibilities are endless!
PLUS you had fun! So it was a win-win exercise!
Writer In Transit

Jemi Fraser said...

Michelle - definitely a win-win!! :)

Anonymous said...

Clearly not as many as you! I love your powers of observation :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Wendy!! I love people and after being on recess duties for decades, it's habit to watch! :)