Fly-On-The-Wall

When you go on a trip and are driving across country, past towns you've never heard of or cities that you would usually not consider visiting, do you ever look at the homes and wonder what the lives of the people who live there are like? What they do for a living? What struggles they have? If they like living in the middle of nowhere?


Maybe it's just me.


I'll see people out in their yards and wonder if we would be friends if I knew them. Or I wonder what it would be like to change places with them for just a moment--not the "Freaky Friday" way, but just enough to get an insight on what someone else is going through.

I will drive through Idaho and past small farming communities during the Christmas holiday season and wonder what the people in that little farmhouse that you can see from the freeway will be doing on Christmas morning.


That would be my ideal "fly-on-the-wall" situation...to just be able to observe strangers in their homes with their families. To get insight on their joys and their struggles. To see if they are as crazy as the general populace, or if they are unique.


Of course, I wonder about people as I pass them on the freeway just driving around town too.


I realized today that although I might be driving my husband to the airport at 6 a.m., most people in the cars around me are headed for work. But they probably think that is where my husband and I are going too. They don't know we are airport bound.


Or when I was being driven to the hospital for my cancer surgery I remember watching the cars pass and thinking that no one knew I had breast cancer and was going in for a mastectomy. They have their own lives and probably don't give two thoughts to the people they are driving by.

Have you ever thought about this kind of stuff?

If you had your choice of three people to go and be a 'fly-on-their-wall', who would you choose? Would you choose a celebrity, a mentor, a homeless person? How do you think it would change your perspective on life in general if you could have that moment of complete understanding of someone else's life? Would it change you?

Hmm. Interesting.

I would choose someone who gives all the appearance of having a fabulous life first. Perfectly behaved kids, sweet husband, etc. No one can be that fabulous behind their own doors all the time, can they? I would be hoping to either see her secret for this fabulous life so I could emulate some of it, or I would be hoping to see a bit of a meltdown so that I would know that she is as normal as the rest of us but hides it better.

Next I would choose one of those random farmhouses in Idaho. Mainly to ease my curiosity and imagination. I wouldn't expect any great revelation except to see that they are normal people with a house that happens to be seen easily by I-84 traffic.

And last, hmm. I am not sure. A homeless person would give me more empathy. A celebrity would probably do the same thing, but I could turn around and help a homeless person. I don't think a celebrity would be that interested in 'help' from someone who has an Average Joe lifestyle.

I will have to think on that last one. Maybe your ideas will give me a better idea of who to use that 3rd fly on. So post comments and let me know. Pretty please. :)