Things I Saw While I Was Out Sick From Work:

A haggard old man in a beat-up Chevy Caprice wearing a sea captain's hat and a knotted gray beard. He was driving in circles around the Laurel Lakes parking lot, near CVS, sneezing loudly out of his open window and yelling at the rain.

A feminine man who looked to be in his 50's, dressed like a pirate, walking through the same parking lot 15 minutes later. I'm not talking a cheesy costume with an eye patch and a parrot. I mean serious Renaissance-Festival type wear, with an open turquoise tunic and black knickers, black boots and a bunch of long strings of beads around his neck.

The recycling collector putting the truck in gear, driving 20 feet, stopping the truck, putting it in park, jumping out, grabbing the bags, tossing them in the back of the truck, walking back to the cab, climbing in, putting the truck in gear, driving 20 feet, stopping the truck.... I had no idea one man did it by himself.

A girl of about 8, with cornrows and a lunchbag, dashing off the schoolbus and knocking her mother to her knees with a hug.