Catch them if you can
People watching is a lot like wildlife watching - you need to sit really quietly, almost motionless - the slightest eyebrow movement may scare them away, and listen very carefully. Everybody on the road has their story, and while many of these people would want to keep these stories to themselves back home, on the road they spill out like an overdue water balloon. Many run, they mistake the road, this road, for their way out, and run from failed relationships, bad career choices, life in general. Don't get me wrong, I am all for throwing yourself into work to rehabilitate spider-monkeys in Guatemala just because you got caught cheating on your boyfriend of eight years with his secretary, who has a husband and three kids. From where I stand - you deserve getting pooped on every day for allowing such a betrayal, but from my personal experience running is not the answer. Avoiding, hiding, running just shelves the problem and often enough I meet people whose unsolved issues, left in this dark cupboard, begin to stink, grow mold and eventually spill out on unsuspecting bystanders.