Monday, December 21, 2009

Everybody loves babies...

Everybody loves babies in Jerusalem. They're everywhere. Two stories from my trip home tonight:

I was in line to pay at the Superpharm (like CVS) at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. The woman in front of me got a call that her prescription was ready at the other counter, said something quickly to me in Hebrew and left. I wasn't really paying attention, and figured she was just telling me she was still in line, and had left her cart...until I looked down and saw that it wasn't her shopping cart, it was her baby's stroller. With the baby inside. Anywhere else, this would be a reason to be concerned for the baby's safety. In Jerusalem, I cooed at a strange woman's child for 5 minutes, until she came back and went on with her day.

On the bus back home from the CBS, there was a group of guys, I'd estimate in their late teens. These boys were interested in coming across as tough - hats on backwards, low pants, wearing tank top undershirts with unzipped jackets over them. You know the look. A young mother came on the bus with her baby boy, and these teens started smiling at and making faces at the little baby. No embarrassment to be caught being so unabashedly into babies in front of their friends, the boys kept on smiling at and playing with the baby for the duration of the bus ride.

2 comments:

  1. aww!
    that's sort of how I feel in nyc sometimes. Everyone pretends not to notice or care about anyone else, but then a baby gets in the picture and all the busy people wearing suits go gaga...

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  2. I have been on a lot of plane rides this year (because of my pulpit) and I have horrible baby karma. There is ALWAYS a crying baby. Well, most recently I was on a trip going to Las Vegas and I sit down and of course a young mother and her infant sit down right next to me for the 4 hour trip. Luckily, it was the best behaved baby ever. Whew!

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