Highway 401, near Toronto's Pearson International Airport
Looking down just after takeoff, the common thought is that everything down there looks so small. But given the strange way I view the world, I don't tend to have common thoughts.
What churns through my brain is that every vehicle down there contains at least one person with a unique destination. Everyone's got a story, and there are arguably a few dozen in this picture alone. I wonder if it occurred to any of those wheeled travellers at that moment that they were being looked at, and thought about.
Your turn: Do you ever wonder about stuff like this when you're in transit?
Sure I do. I wonder how many cars like mine are sitting at intersections, waiting to turn right at the same time I am. I wonder, when I see a dead raccoon or possum, how many of them died in the US overnight. When I am floating in the pool, in the summer, and a plane flies over, I wonder if any of the people on board looked down at me. Weird, huh?
ReplyDeleteActually, my friends and I used to make up stories for nearby drivers on the roads. Once in a while, I'll see someone interesting enough to spark that again. And yes, I often wonder if others who see me do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's a journalist disease, I think, Carmi. Every place I go -- stores, driving through town, EVERYWHERE -- I think, "How did they get here? Where are they going? What makes them tick? Who do they love?" and so on and so on...
ReplyDeleteI always thought I was the crazy one, having those insane little thoughts all the time. "I wonder fi those two are married." and "I wonder if that old couple once looked at old couples and wished that they would be as happy when they got old." and "I wonder how many people are in this mall right now?" and "I wonder if they all sleep soundly at night." Random thoughts about random people.
ReplyDeleteAll the time. Often my husband will assume that because I am looking at the tv(the road, the book in front of me) that I saw what was on the news, when actually my mind was off on such a tangent and paying no attention to the here and now.
ReplyDeleteI get lost when I pull the car out of the driveway. I really like your blog it is positive and you have a unique and artistic perspective in your photos and in what you write about.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog today and for the kind words.
Your blog is great!
When I look down from a plane or see a city-wide view in a movie - any view that allows me to see the 'big picture' of an area - what always occurs to me is that the people 'over there' are so totally unaware of the people 'over that way'. The all seem so close from my point of view, but they are involved in unique pursuits with no awareness at all of the existence of people I can easily see and who seem so close at hand.
ReplyDeleteDuring the glances between other travelers and myself, I often think of the unusual n brief bond of commonality among us strangers even on our separate paths.
ReplyDeleteIn particular, the immediate bond of potential assistance some folks are willing to lend others in emergencies. In one glance through moving windows, you can tell this about a person sometimes-
We're so lucky to have this ability of independent journey.
I think of the exact same thing as this when taking off in a plane and when at the top of a tall building like the CN Tower. It is neat that just a few minutes out of Pearson you see pastures with cattle and farm fields, barns and farmhouses. I wonder about their lives and whether they pause to look up and wonder about who might be in that plane!
ReplyDeleteThanks for you visit and comment!
Here from Michele this time and promising not to be too long winded.
ReplyDeleteI usually look down and while I'm hoping the plane will get off the ground, I simply wonder at how small things are. Your post will have me wondering while on one of those cloverleaf ramps, if someone in a plane is watching. ;)
I always wonder where all the people are going at really early hours ... like when it's 3am, and I see all those cars. Where are all those people going at 3am?
ReplyDelete~S :)
When I'm in public places, I very often wonder about the people I see and what, exactly, their story might be....because as you said, everybody has one.
ReplyDeleteHere from Michele's.....
Hey I wonder if I am one of the itzy bitzy cars down there looking up at you! hehe
ReplyDeleteyes i do... i wonder who are these people, where are they going... where did they come from... etc...
ReplyDeleteand i thought your other pix made me feel like falling... this one... wow!
so how do you get such good shots out of an airplane window?