LI E #6:
“All People Are Th e Same.” A Lesson From A Couple Babies
I stumbled across the room in the dark, frantically feeling around for my book bag. The baby’s crying got louder. Finally, I gave in and turned on the light. There it was! I grabbed my bag, feeling in the front pocket for the key. “Thank Goodness!” I thought, dropping the bag as I lunged back over all the stuff on the floor to pick up my baby. I jammed the plastic key into its back and the crying stopped. Instant relief. Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t enough. Holding the baby with one hand, I had to keep pressure on the key with my other hand. It was an awkward position, especially at 3 a.m., but it was better than listening to the mechanical crying sound of my computerized baby. After several minutes, I finally was able to climb back into my bunk bed and close my eyes. “Wow,” I thought, “Mrs. Stevenson was right. This is annoying!” Mrs. Stevenson was my 8th grade health teacher. And I was right in the middle of Sex Ed. For two weeks, every student had to carry around an electronic baby which recorded whether it was dropped, or starved, or left to cry too long. It was supposed to scare us about the responsibilities and reality of teen pregnancy. 137