An online review of this pediatrician led me to one mommy's complaint that the steps you have to walk down are a potential barrier to care. About the doc's services she notes:
Pros: Patient and not condescending
Cons: Hard to get down the steps with a stroller
We're talking about maybe three steps here.
Which reminds me: Yesterday I was entering an old Village building with an elevator man, the kind occupied by a mix of aging intellectuals and new yuppies. A smartly dressed yuppie mommy came in with a poodle on a leash and her Bugaboo laden with shopping bags. I held the door for her and followed her in, where the elevator man held his door and did all the necessary driving. She didn't even have to push a button. When she got out, pulling the stroller and poodle along with her, she sighed and said, "God, this is such a production."
I don't think so. Parents, correct me if I am wrong, but a production is having a baby in a walkup. A production is having to lug your baby, your dog, maybe another small child, and your stroller up and down five flights of stairs every day.
A production is not when you have doors held open for you and elevators manned for you. It is not having to drag your stroller down three steps to visit your brass-plaque and brownstone pediatrician. And it is also not about having the money to easily replace your belongings when they're stolen.
One more thing: While I might relish future news of these strollers getting swiped, I hope I never have to read about one of these mommies triumphantly finding her stolen Bumbleride through some chat-room heroics.
8 comments:
I guess a simple "thank you" was out of the question.
Giving the devil her due here: sounds like she was complaining about the production that is her life. If gentlemen are doing most of the work and it is still a hassle, she knows the problem is with her lifestyle.
I still want her to move back to Kansas, though.
Clearly, though, this is a production. I mean come on, a poodle and a Bugaboo?
11th Street Pediatrics operate out of a space that was clearly not designed to house the sort've medical practice they provide. As such, there is no room within the place for one to park one's stroller. Don't blame the parents -- they're not any happier about leaving those expensive fucking things out on the street as you are to have to walk around them. Blame the practice for not providing ample storage for their patients.
alex, i knew i could count on you for a pro-stroller comment. that is a pain in the ass to have no room to store them. still, i do think it's interesting that no one feels compelled to lock their pricey buggies to that fence.
I think the real issue is that someone doesn't like the 'pricey' strollers. Let people leave their strollers where they want- even if they may be stollen- why do you care so much?
its all about class (and race) and the presumptive arrogance of those who assume the whole fucking world welcomes them as they force themselves upon those less fortunate individuals that are not as pretty and smart and green as them. the manifest destiny mindset is manifesting a fucked up destiny, but the pretty will still find a way to have a good time (see the diesel ads).
there's a lot of social power being communicated about in this street scene.
it is undeniable that a $700 stroller is a status symbol. we all communicate our status in different ways. unconsciously, perhaps, the owners of these strollers are telling passersby: i have the power to purchase this high-status symbol AND i have the power to withstand having it stolen.
i care about this because it tells us something interesting about class, human behavior, and the city in which we live. i guess i think those things are important to observe and talk about.
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