The Snowflake Chronicles

Encounters in Las Vegas

Journal Entry 5: People watching
Written in February 2010

Session 1

One experience was at the Bank on a Friday, we (my mother and I) arrived at the Bank of America branch on East Sahara about 8:50 AM and the bank doesn’t open until 9:00. When we arrived there were about half-a-dozen people already waiting for the doors to open. Mom and I got out of the car and walked to the bank’s door to wait with the other customers.

One of the men waiting there said to my mother, “Why don’t you stand here in the sun and soak up a little vitamin C.” He was an older gentleman, perhaps in his middle or late fifties with a slight Spanish or Mexican accent. Everyone smiled, but the other customers didn’t speak.

There were only three senior citizens waiting, the others were younger, perhaps in the thirties or forties. They smiled, but didn’t say much. No one appeared to be in any hurry because when the bank opened, even though Mom and I were the last to arrive, the others allowed us to go into the bank first.

What I learned from this experience is that people are polite to older people or at least older women. In a every day business atmosphere, of the type, that exist at the bank the customers don’t seem hurried, no matter what appointments they may have ahead. They will either talk or smile at you and they will give seniors a place ahead of them. I can use this when writing stories with seniors encountering younger people.

Session 2

I went to Nevada Recycling to sell some aluminum cans. This occurred on a Saturday morning. I got my cans inside the building, with the help of some of the other customers who were waiting sell items. Inside I watched the man at the scales, as he weighed some items for other customers.

One was a middle twenties college type who was selling some copper piping he had brought in a blue duffle bag. The man at the scales was in his middle or late forties and he was meticulous about weighing the items. He first weighted the full duffle bag, wrote down the weight, and then removed the item, putting them in a large wheeled container. Next, he weighted the empty duff bag, wrote down its weight and subtracted that from first weight he wrote down. Then he gave the young man the paper with the weight on it and the young man took it to the cashier.

Three people were ahead of me with copper, iron, etc. to sell. The man at the scales was as meticulous weighting the items of each customer. He smiled and was polite with each customer, it didn’t seem to matter if the customer spoke English or Spanish or whether the customer was a man or woman, he treated them all with respect while being friendly and polite.

I can use this when writing a story in which people of different cultures are doing business.