Felicidad “Fe” Santos, 79, keeps a blue plastic stool beside her front door. Most afternoons, she carries it outside and sits there for twenty or thirty minutes.
What do you do while you sit outside?
Mostly watch. Children come home from school. Delivery riders pass. Neighbors sweep. Sometimes somebody stops to talk.
Were you always a people-watcher?
Probably. I used to help my sister at her vegetable stall, so I spent many years seeing people come and go. You learn who is in a hurry and who wants to talk.
Do you miss the market?
I miss the people. I do not miss waking up before sunrise or carrying vegetables.
Why a plastic stool?
Because it is light. I can move it myself. My son bought me a nicer chair, but it is heavy, so the nice chair stays inside and the cheap stool gets used.
What happens when it rains?
I sit inside and complain about the rain.
Fe lives with one of her sons and two grandchildren. She said the house is rarely quiet, which she considers both good and tiring. Before going back inside, she moved the stool a few inches into the shade. “You do not need a big activity every afternoon,” she said. “Sometimes sitting outside is already an activity.”
By A. Cruz
