h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"I've found the opposite, towns and villages are friendlier than cities"



I believe you misunderstood me, Caerwynn... I meant smiling at strangers is less *uncommon* in rural areas....

I suppose it is also something of a regional/cultural phenomenon... For example, Winnipeg is a fairly large city, but on my few visits I have been warmly treated by its citizens.

Further east, in Toronto, people seem reluctant to give you the time of day, yet a few miles away, in Ottawa, complete strangers offer you

Not that long ago, I could have obtained a government grant to research this...

WOW a govermint grant, cool bit like spearmint? may be i'm on the wrong the wrong job!

Sorry, Taliesin, I'm guilty of scanning rather than reading properly!

And then, as a stranger to those cities, I've found Toronto friendlier than some cities further south...

*makes note: must go to Ottawa*

I'm with Galaxy Babe on the Subject line. I was wondering WHO would dare broach a subject like THAT on HooToo. Then I opened the convo thread and saw it was Ti. No more hesitation. I read on and found she'd encapsulated a wonderful observation of human behavior...and used a VERY eye-catching tag-line to introduce it.

After finishing the read, I had to stop myself for a moment. Why had I even suspected anything foul, just from the Subject lines words? Have I really grown so old and cynical that I thought the worst first, then only realized the inherent innocence after I'd made myself find out the whole story? Is it me, or are we living in a society where everything can be considered a double-entendre of the worst sort?


The one saving grace to the whole thing that Ti spawned by posting this is my recognition that I STILL do that with little kids. YES, I ADMIT IT OPENLY. I play google-eyes with the teensy little human beings who are on their way to growing up into adults. Maybe subconsciously I feel that if I make their day interesting with one moment of fun and frivolity, it will stay with them long enough to be the pleasant undercurrent of a loving, giving, caring personality in the future.

Okay, Ti, you've got me hooked on this one. I'm a sucker for little kids and their smiles. You're right about the effect those big, round, sparkling eyes have on my own psyche. I just instantly burst out in a and see just how long I can keep the interchange going. I don't care what their parents think. We have a "thing" going and that's sufficient for that moment. After the child agrees to disengage, then I don't mind talking to the parents. You can meet some really good people that way. Kids have a way of bringing adults back to their senses in that manner; they just naturally function without any barriers to communication.

We could learn a lot from a baby,

tickleB4cooing

Gee, I never had a second thought about the subject line, I knew exactly where the posting was going.

Just yesterday a little one caught my eye in bumper to bumper traffic while taking my daughter to dancing school. The baby was about a year old and gave me a big smile when I finally noticed him/her. I waved and got a wave back. Then mama noticed and smiled, too. Unfortunately, the kid was sitting on mama's lap in the back seat instead of firmly buckled into a child restraint.

Hmmm... so both AGB and B4 found the subject slightly disturbing before finding out what I was on about?

*ponders*

OK, enlighten me - why would the subject be disturbing? Are you saying that it *could* interpreted to imply... eh... what?

Marc Dutroux?

I thought his victims were teenagers, or almost teenaged - not infants?

Seen from my age that's also infants

** ducks **

I said my age, not yours!!

** at Ripley **

Ti, the last time sexual indiscretions came up on a convo, there was no end of trouble. Let's let it rest at that.

As to keeping the young tots happy, though, we have a grand subject for plenty of exploration. Short of just plopping kid into a "Johnny Jump-Up" or letting them while away the hours in a Grayco Musical Swing, what other diversions have you found to be thoroughly entertaining to little ones?

I've kept my kids enraptured by spotting shapes in the clouds. Fingerpainting is excellent for creativity for them, and therapy for me. Any game that involves a ball is worthy of playing. Having pets adds a whole different dimension to playtime.

B4igrowup2much

Simply wearing glasses seems to be enough to amuse infants... this assumption has been based of the number of times that I've been within reach of an infant, and the first thing he/she has gone for is my glasses!

Oh yeah - been there, done that ( - have had that done to me, rather...)

Long dangling earrings seem to be targets, too (and no! - I'm not wearing any )

But the beauty of smiles is that they reach across somewhat larger distances - as does making funny faces