by Jennifer Ross
Aubrey: I’m bored.
Me: Ok, what do you want to do? We need to wait about 45 mins to go to fashion exhibit.
Aubrey: I want to go see it now.
Me: It’s not our turn. We can go get a snack.
Aubrey: Fiiine! (walking) Look, there’s ice-cream
Me: Yes, Oh, it’s L’Arte de Gelato. That is the best.
Aubrey: (stopping at a sculpture). Grandma Jenny, what is that girl?
Me: It says here “Why born enslaved!”
Aubrey: Grandma Jenny, what does that mean?
Me: It means she was a slave.
Aubrey: What does that mean?
Me: A slave was a person, owned by other people.
Aubrey: Why do people want slaves?
Me: They used them to do work, and didn’t pay them.
Aubrey: How did they get slaves? Why is she tied up? Is she sore?
Me: They captured them from Africa, and brought them here on ships, or bought them. She is tied up so she doesn’t escape. Yes, she does look in pain.
Aubrey: But why do people do that?
Me: They did not believe it was wrong. They used people like they used animals.
Me: Let’s get ice-cream. Your usual? Frogs and snails?
Aubrey: Nooo! Chocolate.
Me: Of course! Oh I got a text. It’s our turn now for the fashion exhibit.
Let’s walk fast, as we need to get to the other side of the museum.
Aubrey: Grandma Jenny, can we look at the girl again?
Me: Yes, Aubs, of course.
Jenny is from Cape Town, South Africa, but has been a New Yorker since 1989 and enjoys showing her grandchildren the treasures of New York.