Adventures in Commuting

[mamadeb]

There are times I resent being dependent on the vagaries of public transport, and there are times I enjoy all the encounters it brings.

Today had both.

The bus came a bit later than I'd expected, even though I'd summoned it by pulling out some fanfic and reading. And I was laden down with a gym bag (holding my good suit in its dry cleaning bag) and an extra shopping bag (with my Shabbos hat) because the dinner is at 6:30 and I won't have time to go home to change.

I get a seat by the next stop and manuever things so I don't take up more room than strictly necessary. What am I reading? "A Wizard's Song" by Telanu. Which means it's Harry Potter slash fic.

Partway through, a couple of girls who could almost pass for locals get on - they're wearing the same long skirts and little tops that the local girls wear. Except. They have key rings with pictures of JC hanging from their beltpacks, and little name tags saying "Sister _________ " and proclaiming their membership in "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".

Definitely not locals. :)

I'm sitting alone on a double seat, and one of them sits next to me. And she's curious about what I'm reading, since it's in tiny print and three columns.

"A story a friend wrote." She asks more questions - what sort of story, what's it about, what's fanfic...

I gave her the impression it was a little romance about Ron and Hermione. Well, they do have one in this story, so. :) The Orthodox Jewish lady should not tell the young Mormon girl, "I'm reading a fairly explicit sex scene between Severus Snape and sixteen year old Harry Potter, and please let me get back to it."

She'd never heard of fanfic, she can't imagine a world without Star Trek, and slash would probably tear her little world apart. But it was better than discussing religion.

I ended up asking about *her* - where she went to school, what she majored in, how did she like New York, telling her about the true beauty of New York in the Fall (okay, not about her, but there are no minefields there.)

And then we get to the last stop and I have to wait for a train for longer than I want, so I'm late to work.

Comments

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

Aww. So have the nice mormon girls survived NYC? Or has it eaten them alive?

And why would anyone put a pic of JC on a keychain? Seems sort of well, tacky to me.

But you know, the Episcopal church, tacky is a bigger sin then sex.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, tacky didn't come to mind. That it wasn't one of several revered rabbis - and I actually thought it was until I noticed that the hair wasn't gray - was the clue.

They've been here 4 months. I kept encouraging them to visit Prospect Park and the Botanical Gardens and to, well, enjoy New York City.

They were very sweet. Flatbush isn't overly fond of missionaries, but that's not a bad thing, is it?

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

Well, if not tacky cool.

You know, it's funny, but your neighborhood is probabaly easier for them to adjust to then most in NYC would. Sure there is language and food issues.

But the clothing is nice and modest, the people generally behaving in ways that would be familiar- all the large families etc.

Of course they have a religious imperative to prolesyze, and you have a religious imperative to ignore those prolesyzing to you.

I'm actually a little surprised, as I thought that the Mormons had joined a number of other christian denominations in deciding not to do any active recruiting of Jews. Ie, if an individual decided to switch, fine, but no point in wasting the time on the group.

Hopefully they will get their eyes opened a little. Invite them to a torah class next time. :)

[thermidor.livejournal.com]

But you know, the Episcopal church, tacky is a bigger sin then sex.

As an Episcopalian from South Carolina, I know tha's true.

Of course, i read so many slash journals I was like -JC? from Nsync? Ohhhh...Jesus!

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

My first thought was that it was the dude from NSync as well. And this is Mama Debs journal. SHe's not much for chatting about Jesus...

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Maybe not, but I don't talk about boy bands. Ever. :)

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

Well, there is that.

Either way, just not the context I was expecting.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

They work those poor missionary kids like you wouldn't believe, they put in like 8 hours a day/ 6 days a week. An unforced friendly conversation is one of the best things you can do for them.

[thornsilver]

Are we from the same NYC? I would not have random people talking to me. I practice "the glare of death" in the mirror. :)

[spiderine.livejournal.com]

I'm sitting alone on a double seat, and one of them sits next to me. And she's curious about what I'm reading, since it's in tiny print and three columns.

LOL! I remember being on the subway a couple of months ago and reading something absolutely *egregious*.... it was a Harry Potter MPREG, I think it was Lexin's "Unnatural"... and having a young woman glance over my shoulder and squeal, "OMG! Is that an advance galley of the new Harry Potter book?" (It was a relatively innocuous passage about Harry getting a room to himself at Hogwarts.)

It took every ounce of scruples I could scrape up from the bottom of my twisted soul - plus literally biting the inside of my cheek until I winced - to keep myself from chirping, "You bet it is! Here, you want to read it?" and handing it over so I could watch her brain explode all over the subway car.