See, even Matt Damon picks his nose, so I guess it’s OK
Do you enjoy people watching? I admit that as a connoisseur of the ridiculous and bizarre, I relish times when I can sit back quietly and watch the weirdos go by. Highly entertaining for me. And the airport is one of my favorite people watching venues. Good opportunities to gawk and mock make trips to the airport at least tolerable. This past summer we have made more trips to the airport to pick people up than I can ever remember making in the past.
So here’s my latest revelation gleaned from the bounties of boredom at the airport: apparently you don’t have to worry about how you behave in public anymore. For years I have labored under the illusion that personal grooming should be conducted discreetly and in the privacy of either home or bathroom. My mother, who went to Charm School in the 60’s when other young ladies were burning their bras, has insisted that I learn how to behave in public. This included walking lines to keep my duck toes pointed straight and moderating my voice so as not to laugh too loudly or too obnoxiously in public. So it is with great shock that I observed various cases of personal grooming and self-touching that caused me to purse my prissy lips in dismay.
The “Vulgar and Unrefined” behaviors that I observed at the airport today are apparently now socially acceptable since more than one person was doing them and I have seen these actions repeated almost daily here in Costa Rica. They include: brushing hair, picking noses and ears and teeth, clipping fingernails (!), indiscreetly adjusting undergarments, and scratching any body part that itches. I would like to add to this list, the use of the cleavage as a cell phone holster, and the “manly” rubbing of the bare belly I have observed by men standing idly on street corners. I’m not sure whether to advert my eyes or to giggle like a junior higher. I do the adult thing- I smirk.
Well this revelation is quite liberating for me. I will now be picking and itching with careless abandon! It’s a good thing that nobody cares how you act in public anymore. At least I’m still wearing a bra.
Monkeys in My Bag 