It's funny how telling body language can be - it speaks much more fluently than any vocabulary. You can tell how close friends are by how they mirror one another when they speak, or how their heads tilt when they are listening. You can tell when a woman is flirting with a man by how her hands draw attention to her more becoming features - her hair, her eyes, her breasts. You can see when a couple has been arguing by the defensive thrust of a man's shoulders, or the crossed arms and set jaw of his lover. You can spot a liar by their inability to make eye contact - or even more disturbing, their unwavering stare. It's all there, and is seldom able to be hidden.
You may be a flamboyant extrovert, and revel in being the center of attention. There are those who remain silent, until there is something important to be said, like Silent Bob, who drops that morsel of truth at just the right moment. There are those who do better one-on-one. There is the chronic interrupter. There are the academics, who may tire others and seem arrogant. There is a whole world full of people, all saying something, even when they do not open their mouths. It's all interesting.
I am pretty inarticulate vocally - I am the person who thinks of the witty saying two hours after it should have been said. Instead, I watch. I observe, and I learn. I store it away. People can be creative fodder for characters in a novel, or help me learn more about the world around me. Some people teach us how to be a better person, or make us feel not-so-bad after all. There are positive things, and negative things - and then there is our perception of such.
Now that I've gone all Hannibal Lecter, and succeeded in weirding-out my friends, I just want to say that this isn't a malicious thing. I enjoy the company of kindred spirits, and I'm really not a crazy stalker - well, maybe. I just think one of the best things about being human is listening - not only with our ears, but our eyes.
