People Watching

Wednesday night, as Kool and the Gang jammed their way through "Jungle Boogie", Mrs. Undaground asked me, "Do you see the guy playing air guitar."

"Of course, I've been fixated on him since the beginning of the song. You know, I like it when people think they're safe from public ridicule and they just let themselves go like that. When I see someone acting so carefree in public, I like to watch them and silently judge them the entire time. It makes me feel good."

Surprisingly, my wife, who's a much better person than me, agreed. "I do too. It's just people watching."

About 15 minutes later, I was grooving along to the band, and singing lyrics into Mrs. Undaground's ear.

"Try my best to do what's right.... Take it for a ride, everything's nice. Ooooooh Joanna."

I have no idea how I knew the words to these songs. They must have been burned into some remote area of my brain back in the day when I was a stupid kid who listened to a top 40 station. My feet were rhythmically shuffling back and forth, and my knees were bending along to the music. My hands may have been doing something expressive as well; I can't remember. Technically, I think I was doing what ancient civilations used to call "dancing".

It was at that moment when I realized that there might be some cynical jerk lurking in the area, watching me, and telling his wife to look at the Kool and the Gang groupie singing along. Whoever it was, I hope I made him feel good about himself.