Curious Not Judgemental
Even before the guy behind the counter told me it was funny that my name was Bernstein, I had seen him as a kind of stereotype that I have already found to be rare in real life in Atlanta. Deep country drawl and just, well, that vibe. Now, I didn't know what to do. He mentioned my name again and said it wasn't one he sees lot and he thought it was cool. As he entered it into the computer, he asked me if he had spelled it right. He hadn't and I told him that he had spelled it the cool way but it was actually spelled different. So just normal interaction.
We had a bit of a wait so I decided I would engage this further: so not that many Bernsteins? He laughed answered that he hadn't met a Bernstein, but he thought it was cool because he was listening to Bernstein last night. Leonard Bernstein?
"Yes, I am kind of old- fashioned."
So I asked him what music he likes and he told me:
"Well, I grew up in the country so a lot of that music, but some new stuff. Some standards, some rap. My friend Yossi is Israeli, from Russia and he has gotten me into some hip-hop in Russian which I like but he's only told me what a few of the words are."
He then proceeds to tell me about all the languages he has tried to learn so he could talk Spanish or Ukrainian to other friends. And, before I left, he again told me that he would tell his friend how cool it is to meet a Bernstein. I'll take it.