UNLESS YOU LOOK, YOU MAY NEVER SEE THEM

Strolling Chicago's stunning Michigan Ave can be a gusto of little joys. The soaring buildings, the whoosh of traffic, mostly the hurrying people. People-watching in large cities is an art form that not only belongs to the tourist. Heading for the classic grays of the Tribune Tower this morning, I could see and sense the world itself on metaphoric display.

On one extreme, the seething surging masses with important agendas and deadlines. These are the people who, the world over, make things happen. Sales...contracts...elections...headlines...sometimes even revolutions. On the other extreme, the easier gait of those down here with little more on their mind than buying a new jacket or meeting an old friend for lunch.

What helps distinguish these two are the eyes and the hands.

In the case of the hurrying deal-makers, the fierceness in their eyes tells you a lot. They have things to do and places to go. Some of these very same people may be making a few headlines in the Trib's morning editions. Good for them; and usually good for us. The world will always need doers.

Those other folks, well it's their hands which often tell their tale. Be sure to check. These are those who seem to have just enough time on their hands to slip theirs into his or hers. Mind you, not too many down here on frenetic Michigan Avenue have the opportunity or the inclination. But some do. Like the visiting husband and wife pausing to share some small delight others pass by taking for granted. Also, the mothers and fathers cradling their child's tiny hand into theirs. Also, the young lovers who kinda have a monopoly on the poetry of touch.

But wait...! There's another part of the hand-holding Michigan Avenue -- world? -- population. If, that is, you take the time to look for them. It's the vintaged members of this panorama. A little older, a tad slower, but they appear to have the time to look at time. The time of their lives. And so it is their veined hands, one in the other, hold tighter. Yet at the same time, lighter. Lighter and brighter in that spirit of "ahh" which appears to have brought them out here today.

In today's world -- from Michigan Avenue to the streets of Cairo -- it is the young who have both numbers and history on their side. Precisely as it should be. However, until science can find a cure for death, these wonderful young people owe themselves the privilege of looking at what and who they too will eventually become...