Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

Being a summer housewife leaves me much time during the day for observation, especially when walking. I'm always curious who else doesn't have to go to work. I guess you wouldn't be surprised to learn that there are other stay-at-home wives, most of them mothers. I also see nannies pushing strollers about, sometimes collected in a small knot as they chit-chat in front of the library or playground. Retirees also abound. Most of them are older but a few are about my age.

If I go walking in the morning before 10am, then I see the bike-commuters. Now, I'm going to use a stereotype here, but they do look like computer programmers. For one thing, they're all dressed like Froody. And, since we now live in/near Silicon Valley, it probably isn't a bad assumption. Especially when they're biking around with backpacks that say "Google" on them.

Anyway, besides road bikes some of these commuters also use fancy-ish bikes like recumbent bikes or folding bikes. I have never seen so many folding bikes in my life! I used to associate them with RVers, but a folding bike makes sense for urban commuters as well. They fit neatly in your office or cubicle.

Of course, there are those who drive to work. A lot of these commuters do own fuel-efficient cars like the Toyota Prius, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris. I have even seen a Tesla parked in someone's driveway, all plugged in for the night! (And, yes, it was the roadster. Did you see the pricetag on the website???)

The people in my neighborhood seem to enjoy drinking coffee and eating Indian food. They also like gourmet pizzas, Hagen Dazs, and buying organic groceries. They don't like using plastic bags. Except at farmers markets. But, they do clean up after their dogs, a big plus. :-)

In the end, these people, my neighbors, seem to be alright. They are a lot like me, I suppose.