Baby Talk

Walking to the subway, I see Kara G. near the corner of 184th and Overlook. She does not see me, and I continue on inside.

At the platform, I see Malka S. and Shosh P. talking and I join them, surprised to see Shosh on the subway this early. When we board the train there is one empty seat left. Malka says she is getting off soon, and Shosh doesn't want to sit, so I go take it.

The person to the left of the empty seat is large. She is taking up an extraordinary amount of space, holding the morning paper with hers arms wide apart and her legs spread too far. I sit but she is dormant and still - she does not pull herself inward, she does not lean over onto the divider. I try, but am defeated; I cannot squish into this space.

I join Malka and Shosh again, to find the conversation is now focused heavily on baby talk. Crawling and cruising, babysitting and schooling. Malka's son has just started nursery and, while fun at first, he has discovered that it is an ongoing, daily event that he no longer wants to attend. This is the true male species at its best. Offer us something great and we will cherish it forever. Ask us to keep it, and it will be promptly rejected.

Slimdown

My pants don't fit. I'm already running late and struggling to buckle them so I decide to leave them as is. I strap on a belt and problem solved - the buckle covers the open button - and I head downstairs. In the elevator a neighbor is telling his son about the largest cucumber known to man, which has been grown by a farmer in Israel.

Halfway to the A train I see Sara Ch. about a half-block behind me. I also see that the top of my pants are sticking out above the belt buckle, and I have to suck myself inwards to snap them shut. Does she see me? A few minutes later I turn around and she waves.

Just as I pass through the turnstile, Sara catches up and swipes her card. Insufficient fare! She turns back for a new metro card. We've just missed the downtown so I wait up and when she finally gets in we walk down the platform together. We talk about the wedding in Chicago everyone is going to this weekend. The only time she's been to the Midwest was a September trip to Milwaukee, and she was very cold.

I get to my usual spot and Sara keeps going. Karen L. is here and I take a seat next to her on the bench. We chat about the Chicago trip as well. She can't go because she and her husband need to be in Boston. Karen is reading "Nicholas Nickleby" by Charles Dickens, a giant of a book which she's almost finished. She thinks it's a terrible book for the subway, because it's too heavy to carry.

Karen and I are still chatting when Zehava K. walks by. She says saw me earlier, from her window, walking to the subway. To other people this might feel creepy but to know Zehava is to know the great joy she gets from watching the pedestrian traffic from her Bennett Avenue abode. She will also be at the wedding and as the three of us chat I notice Zehava has lost weight. Last Sunday, the two of us went bicycle riding over the George Washington Bridge and into NJ. I had trouble keeping up and although I'd like to blame my knees or my less sporty bike, I am just not up to snuff yet.

We hear the train approaching in the distance and Zehava leaves to get closer to the front. Lisa K. shows up and says hello but quickly disappears as Karen and I wait to board. The same tall girl from last week is here too. Further on the platform I can see Shosh P. but she is too far away for me to get her attention, and it's too bad, especially since she knows about my blog. I can't help but wonder if, when it comes to seeing her own name in print, she would prefer a day of anticipation or a surprise at night.