Keeping an eye on skater girl and child

It’s hard to watch humans without judging, but it can be a liberating activity. Be the observer. Drop your ego, shut up, turn off the sensors that require you to criticize. Let a scene play out in front of you. Watch. Listen.

Here’s a scene I witnessed some summers ago: A woman who looked to be in her mid-20s was standing at the entrance to a crosswalk on a downtown street around dusk. I was in my car, stopped at a red light, when the woman caught my attention to my right.

The woman bore a full backpack, she had a beverage in one hand, and one foot was on a skateboard while her other foot was...