The woman walking around with box of underwear, selling them for $5 a pop, is what first comes to mind. 

That's what I think of when I have to describe the street life during the Olympics. Just walking to the various sporting events is an adventure in itself. Sunday, just for fun, I sat down along a street and took notes for 10 minutes of everything out the ordinary that caught my attention. 

What follows is a list taken from those notes. Keep in mind that this was all in just 10 minutes: 
 

• A stripper (as in exotic dancer) walks by, putting postcard-sized cards about her nightclub on lamp posts, asking folks to drop by that night.
• A minute later, a mom smacks one of the cards out of her curious daughter's hands.
• Two minutes after that, a security guard walks by, yanking all the cards off the lamp posts.
• Scalpers of all sorts walk by, offering tickets to just about any sport.
• A woman dressed as a Southern Belle walks by, even carrying the Southern-style umbrella. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the Southern Belle style, it's basically a fluffy prom dress.) Everybody wants to pose with her for pictures. She obliges but seems to be in a rush to get somewhere.
• A woman sits down near me, opens a box, and begins holding up underwear in plastic bags. It was just your basic white, male underwear, in assorted sizes. I laughed out loud. But I was stunned when people started buying them. I think some people who were sweating profusely to the heat were happy to get a change of underwear. Hey, I'm not making this up.
• A man sells spray bottles with built-in fans. These are the hit novelty item of the Olympics. The bottles are similar to Windex bottles, but there is a fan built at the edge of the squirt nozzle. When you turn the fan on and squirt the water, you get a beautiful, cool, wet breeze. Yes, you, too, can own one for the low, low price of $15.
• Down a road, firefighters attach a giant spray machine to a fire hydrant, allowing people to walk under a gentle mist of cool water.
• A man walks by with a towel draped over each shoulder. On each towel are dozens of Olympic pins -- all for sale.
• Some kids walks by with Izzy, the Olympic mascot, tattooed on their faces. One of the kids pulls away from his mom to talk to me and show me his tattoo. His mom, obviously embarrassed by the boldness of her 5-year-old son, grabs his arm and apologizes to me for the interruption. I smile.
• A guy walks by with a full-sized Greek flag tied around his neck and draped over his chest like a giant bib. He is cheering and waving his arms over his head. I have no idea what sport he is cheering for.
• Several men walk by in Green jackets and tan pants. They are judges, but I don't know what sport they handle.
• And, finally, three adults walk by, side-by-side, each with a child on their shoulders. Each of the children are holding hands and giggling -- definitely a Kodak moment.