You'd think that by volunteering there I'd learn a shitload of nerdy stuff and turn into some know-it-all science geek, but I honestly think I've learned a lot more about people than I have about Mars, fusion energy, the Hudson estuary, alligator snapping turtles, AIDS, and skyscrapers. For one thing, I befriended three employees who are all single women in their low twenties who already have kids...makes you wonder what the hell they did in the past few years and what the hell they'll be doing in the next couple of years. I hope they all end up mad rich with successful jobs and lovely children, but I was always a sucker for happy endings.
Another thing I've noticed is how parents interact with their children. You know what I hate? When I see parents letting their 5 year old kids run around in a huge building while they sit there with their Blackberrys. Texting. Like seriously...hang out with your kids, not just for their safety but for their freaking happiness too. But you know what I love? When I'm at the Rocket Blaster station where little kids make their own foam rockets and I hear parents telling their kids, "Say thank you!" when I help them. On the opposite side of the spectrum, one time this mother got so pissed at this other man because she claimed her daughter was on line to play with the model crane before the man's son. Ten minutes later, the mom was still ranting about it while her own 7 year old daughter said, "Mommy, stop making a big deal out of it! It's okay!" That just amused me.
One last thing. It's kind of sad. So I was working in the Skyscraper exhibit today and in the middle of the exhibit there's this beam from the World Trade Center to commemorate September 11th. The beam is bent completely in a U shape to show how hot it must have been for it to have ended up that way. Anyways, I was walking past it when I overheard this little girl ask, "Mommy, what's 9/11 again? I forgot." It was such an innocent question, but it was just so weird, you know? I mean it's not like we were very old either when it happened, but it was still so odd to hear it talked about as if it were some distant historical event...like Pearl Harbor or something. But then...it gets weirder. Literally like 5 minutes later I'm walking past the beam again and this time I see a father and his son. The son asks, "Is this what happened when the plane hit it?" And the father replied, "Yes, that's what the plane did. I was in the building when it happened." I was just like.....I didn't even know what to think. It was such a contrast from what I had just seen 5 minutes ago.
So I think I learn so much more from people than I do from textbooks. I like people...they're cool. Oh, except for Stanley.
