I haven't written any blogs the past week because I had the pleasure of being in London for a short, cleansing holiday.Naturally, I observed some mad wankers during my stay, but this one observation felt right for my blog.
I rode the Tube nearly every day and it's always an interesting experience. No air-conditioning, newspapers strewn about, bottles of lager, etc. Brits (God love 'em) have little sense or care about personal space. If you are sitting on an empty Tube train, and folks get onto your empty car, they will inevitably sit right next to you. Even though there are dozens of comfy, spacious, empty seats on the car!
On one of my journeys through the bowels of London, a mum and her daughter plopped down next to me. The 10-year old daughter took her copy of "The Adventures of Pinocchio" out of her backpack, and then took her Mum's copy of some trashy romance novel out and gave it to her. They sat in silence reading their books. Nary a word spoken between them.
At first I thought it was so lovely to see a child not playing with a handheld gaming device, and actually reading a book. But as the journey continued for 20 minutes, and the little family continued to press their noses to the books, I thought that it was probably just as bad for a mum and her daughter to be reading on the train and not actually having a good parent/child discussion.
But, what do I know? I'm not a mum or a kid or a Brit. Or, a reader.
1 comment:
I was once on the NYC subway with my children on the way to the doctor. They'd been cranky with each other and a bit eye-rolling with me before leaving the apartment, so I grabbed the books they were reading as we left, made sure they got seats once we got on the 5 train, and put the books in their hands. They did not protest. I sat down with some relief and they read, and I read my own book. A man and woman across the aisle from us said to me before they got off at Grand Central, "You are such a lovely family!" I smiled and thanked them as I thought "you don't know brat-attack prevention when you see it."
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