Windows

I was watching on my computer a low key television program which consisted of one-on-one interviews with writers and philosophers.  They discussed books, ideas. The interviews took place in a city cafe somewhere,  with the two principals sitting on stools at a tall table near the cafe window, sipping coffee or mineral water.   Little of the cafe was seen, no other customers or staff members, except for an occasional reflection in the window, but outside that window, or windows as the two men sat in a corner, so that we saw through two windows, outside that window a busy city square, with cars, buses, streetcars, coming and going from three direction, and of course pedestrians right outside the cafe, who only occasionally noticed the camera and briefly stopped to gaze inside.

Since the scene inside was static - two men conversing, what was most interesting visually was the scene outside, the busy city, people's faces, clothes, manners.  Very few seemed to be in a hurry.  For some reason or another, I expected or hoped to see a familiar face to appear, even though I am far from there, and don't know anyone.

Now I wonder if the producers of this program realized what they were creating.   I suspect they did, otherwise they'd conduct these interviews where such interviews are usually conducted, in a stagey television studio.

I sit and read books in a brightly lit cafe with large windows at a busy city corner, and while my back is usually to the window, I frequently turn and watch the city scene.   Someone's recommended reading in public, and I've found some benefits to doing it.