Gesticulation

I have always loved this word...."gesticulation". Today, as I was sitting in traffic in the heart of Lawrence, listening to classical music, I saw a man talking on his cell phone across the street. He was gesticulating wildly, hands flying to and fro, up and down, making a very important point. He was walking along in the midst of a forceful conversation, using his hands. On the phone.

It made me thinking about how ingrained gesticulating is as a behavior. The person on the other end of the line could not see the actions of his hands, but the man who was talking was using those hands as if the person listening could see them...a habit of communication. It served a purpose of making him feel as if he is being heard more clearly. It was made all the more interesting by the fact that I could not hear, either. I was listening to music. All this passed by and through as the rain on my car pattered down and over and into the street.

I love watching people.