Do you see what I see?

Any of you play peek-a-boo with a little kid?  No one can really pin point why, without fail, it makes babies squeal with laughter for hours on end.  And even fewer people can argue convincingly who has more fun, the adult or the child.

One such cherub struck up a game of P.A.B. with me on the train tonight.  I caught him starting at me, with a curious little half-grin on his face, almost as if to say, “you game?”  When our eyes locked, and my lips turned up ever so slightly, he had his answer and jerked his face to the side, covering it with his pudgy little baby-fat hands.  We dueled for what seemed like minutes, but was probably a few seconds, before his mom thumped him over his adorable little head, flattening the crown of his mini afro.  He giggled.

Innocence is a beautiful thing; raw, untamed energy and unabashed self-centeredness.   Cuteness certainly merits plenty of attention when you’re tiny and teething.  However, if you ever try playing P.A.B. with another adult, you’re likely to get a contorted facial expression, much like the expression one gets after sniffing a putrid odor. 

We all spend copious amounts of time trying to get attention, yet when we do, when strangers unintentionally make eye contact, we suddenly get stage fright…Abort! Abort!  Why is it the social norm, the unwritten rule, to avoid eye contact with strangers?  In all my people watching I’ve found it rare for strangers to meet eyes and offer a friendly smile.  I tried it myself, with difficulty I might add, and the majority are unresponsive, if not noticeably uncomfortable.  On the even rarer occasion when I’ve found someone actually starring at me I’ve hastily averted my own eyes.

We humans do so much to get others’ attention, from the way we dress and talk to the way we move about, fraternize with others and posing for pictures.  But when we aren’t making deliberate, conscious efforts to attract attention, yet still get it, we don’t know how the heck to respond.

Next time you’re at an airport waiting for a flight, or on a bus or train, take a look around.  TRY to catch someone’s gaze.  Or even better, next time you’re in a crowded elevator, turn around so your back faces the door, say nothing but just look other passengers in the eye.

What do you see?  Why is it soooo….aaaaawk-waaaard!