As I live in the West End and walk into town several times per week, I often find myself on Congress Street, not all of Congress Street but that part from Bramhall (Maine Med area) to City Hall. I've always been into people watching and wondering who these people are, what they do for a living, or just what it is they do. If you're like me, Congress Street can keep you entertained for quite a while. Last Wednesday was a good example of a good day enjoying my time on Congress Street.
I started the day at the farmers market at Monument Square (my wife drove me there and left after shopping) and then I had a leisurely walk home. I like the farmers market. There is always a great variety of fresh produce to chose from from some great farms. I bring one of those reusable sacks with me because when you shop at the mostly organic farmers market you really need to go full Monty with the whole peace loving, granola eating, Birkenstock and hemp necklace wearing scene and plastic bags just don't fit in. I fill up my bag with some really nice vegetables, eat about half of them, and then throw out the remainder on Friday as they're starting to go bad. That frees up space in the fridge for my trip to the Deering Oaks farmers market on Saturday morning. I usually get an extra day out of the stuff I buy in Deering Oaks as I don't have to throw out those vegetables until the following Tuesday when the process begins anew. Anyway, I started my day shopping with TA before she left me to walk home alone.
Shopping at the farmers market with TA is not quite the same as shopping there with my buddy JF, probably because the overt girl watching I do when with my guy friends just doesn't go over as well when I'm with my wife although I can get away with "people watching" as long as the majority of my comments are directed towards people other than attractive women. If I happen to point out a good looking man it seems as though I get to make an additional comment or at least get a longer look at an attractive woman so, even though it might appear to be a bit gay for me to point out good looking guys to my wife, there are perfectly legitimate heterosexual reasons for doing so.
Yeah, hanging out at Monument Square is great for people watching. The office workers are out in force, especially at lunch time. They're the ones in the business attire. They pretty much all look good. The next-best looking people are the housewives who do their shopping at the farmers markets (and Whole Foods). These aren't regular housewives. These are the ones who are married to well-to-do professionals and have the time and money to shop at the higher prices markets. To the neophyte people watcher, these attractive women look the same as the granola-ly farm women who peddle their products at the market but there are significant differences. Where the real nature girls have that natural look by wearing no make-up, the housewives obtain that same "natural" look by wearing tons of make-up. The t-shirts and ripped jeans worn by the farm women are just that: t-shirts and ripped jeans. The well-to-do housewives purchase their t-shirts and ripped jeans at expensive specialty shops where the rips are placed in just the right places. Bottom-line, it takes a lot of time and money to get the look of someone who has a lot of neither. I actually like both looks because I'm, well, pretty shallow. Sure, natural beauty is probably the best, but unnatural beauty can be pretty good too.
Next in line at the market are the real housewives - the ones who actually have to get the kids to school, clean the house, shop for grocery's and then cook the meals and might even have a part time job of their own. They don't have time to doll themselves up too much. Maybe they came from a workout of walking the boulevard or they have a $12 per month gym membership at Planet Fitness. These women are not there to be seen, they are on a mission. They have real things to do and looking good so I can check them out while sipping my coffee is not one of them. It is fun to watch them shop because they are all business - get the vegetables and go because Hannaford and volunteering in school is waiting.
After the housewives come the hangers. I'm one of them - I just kinda hang out basically because I have little else to do (TA will argue that I have a LOT to do but she just doesn't really understand and I'm incapable of coherently explaining how important it is for me to do very little). The hangers are those who show up and hang out. They're a mixed bag. Some are students on break from something and some are former students who are in a perpetual state of being "on break". There are some retired folks (me raising my hand) and some who meet their friends for a bite to eat from the public market and to just chill out for a bit (raising my hand... again). There are also the street performers, some who are very good (I'll throw a buck or some change in their guitar case) and some who are pretty bad (I feel bad for them but usually don't give them money because I don't want to encourage them when it's clear they have little talent). As a general rule, I don't give beggars money - my reasons are many - to be covered in its own post.
There's also some decent eats in Monument Square. There's an OK hot dog guy and a taco stand that appears to do a fairly brisk business. There's David's if you want a very nice lunch though it costs a premium compared to the other offerings around the square. Personally, I like going into the Public Market House where you can grab a slice of pizza from Big Sky or go upstairs for a smoothie or, when the weather is a little cooler, a great bowl of soup from Karmasouptra (I'm very happy they're also at the mall - good food at the food court in the mall is a real nice novelty). The Dominican place is really good though that can also be pricey. I want her to succeed so I try to occasionally eat there even when I shouldn't spend the money.
Yeah, I like Monument Square. It's got a great mix of people and it's so unpretentious - even the well-to-do housewives in the designer free-trade clothing manage to pull off unpretentiousness quite well. It's one of those places that people call "real". It's got everyday people from every segment of society doing everyday things. It has the feel of a small event when there's no event.
Next: the walk home - what a long, strange trip it sometimes is.
