Wednesday

Borders Bookstore at Park & 57th in NYC

Received Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Crunchy looking white nanny wearing cut off khakis (below the knee and frayed) slide in religious looking sandals, matted hair, small glasses and no make-up left Tyler alone in the children's area late this morning (6/13) for at least 20 minutes while she sat in the cafe and consumed her coffee, while slowly reading some obscure poetry book. I think. It looked like poetry. And transfixed she was. Meanwhile Tyler was behaving obnoxiously to my son and I was left with the duty of correcting/ babysitting and assisting young Tyler.

This post was submitted as "Borders Books on Park". Please try to include the full address of the incident. -JD

35 comments:

Lisa said...

Wait, was she crunchy OR religious? I don't think you can blend those two fashion styles ...

Anonymous said...

The nanny was crunchy. Her sandals were religious. Probably jesus sandals.

Anonymous said...

And the reason you said nothing?...

Anonymous said...

What's crunchy?

Anonymous said...

crunchy- like a hippy look. no make up. probably eats a lot of granola.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand what religious sandals look like-what an odd description!

And, if you knew this was going on and knew where the nanny was-why didn't you just go up to her and say "hey-I cant watch this child-it is your responsibility-you do it". I don't understand why people don't just open their mouths!

Anonymous said...

Maybe OP didn't want to walk all around the store looking for his nanny? Maybe she saw her towards the end? Maybe she had a stroller with her or other children. You cannot expect people to upheave their own children or LEAVE them to trounce around and locate your lackluster nanny. It is your job to manage these nannies. They are your pons asinorums, not ours!
Keep them in check.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Religious looking sandals. OP, you are really weird. Much weirder than the crunchy nanny wearing "religious sandles."
You sound pretty ignorant. I'm surprised you were even in a bookstore to begin with.

Anonymous said...

op-PARK and 57th!
which is NY

Anonymous said...

Damn you can read OP? With the sounds of this post you really sound stupid. How are you going to describe someone as "crunchy" did she have a huge peanut sitting on her head and you thought to yourself "wow she looks crunchy" what the hell? You have to be the most ignorant person on the planet. If someone was beating on my kid their parent or caregiver is going to hear from me. You kid must have not been that important or you would have found a staff member to help you find her. Your a crappy parent!

Anonymous said...

where did OP say that the child was beating on her kid?

Anonymous said...

1) The characteristics of a neo hippy, often walking and biking to all locales, involved in eco causes, adhering to vegan or macrobiotic diets
2) quasi/modern day hippie; tends to wear no shoes, spends much of time finding way out of woods after smoking excessive amounts of weed, preferred fragrance = patchouli

Elizabeth said...

The term "crunchy" has made its way into the modern parlance. I understood you, OP. Similarly, I had a mental picture of the "religious sandals" the minute I heard the phrase.

Anonymous said...

ro,

Thanks for your Webster's version. Love it.

Anonymous said...

I am so concerned by these kind of posts. Aren't you afraid you are alerting pervs and predators to the fact that children are left alone for long periods of times at these locations?

Anonymous said...

You people must live under a rock. "Crunchy" and "Jesus sandals" is all she needs to say.

Anonymous said...

The ESL nannies are outing themselves on this post. Crunchy is a common term, and conjures up exactly what the person looked like. Religious sandals/Jesus sandals -- the same.

I'm so sorry for the kids in the care of half-literates.

Anonymous said...

3:30 takes the cake for ignorance.

I think I would prefer a distracted cruncy nanny to her.
I could always take the crunchy nanny aside and appeal to her intelligence and senses. But 330 has nothing to appeal to.

Ewwwwwwwwwww.

Anonymous said...

Wardrobe/ Appearance: Crunchy people love corduroys, Birkenstocks, anything hemp, camping backpacks, Patagonia furry fleeces, wool socks, ski caps with outflowing nappy fro, carabiner keychains, and Nalgene bottles (with a Free Tibet sticker, of course) carabinered to their North Face backpack with a yoga mat protruding out the top. The crunchy guys often have beards, while the crunchiest women have furry legs. Diet: The Crunchy food pyramid is dominated by organic, earthy foods- sprouts, Odwalla bars and juices, chick peas, hummus, tofu, pita pockets & chips, vegetarian panini's, Fresh Samantha juice, granola, yogurt, raisins, trail mix, unsalted pistachios, soy milk, etc.
Transportation: Crunchy methods of transportation include longboarding, barefoot walking, biking, hybrid cars, old school Land Rovers, Volvo's, Saab's, Volkswagens or Subaru Outbacks. A crunchy car almost always has ski racks and Grateful Dead, Phish, or other bumper stickers protesting something.

Anonymous said...

This post is hilarious! "Religious looking sandals", the sandals look like they are religious? Maybe my sandals have been sneaking off to church behind my back! The nanny was reading, gasp, obscure POETY! That alone would be reason to fire her, but in addition, she wears NO makeup!
It is pretty hard to take this post seriously, especially when your xenophobia is so blatant, and you seem more irritated by the boy's interaction with your son than concerned for his safety.

Anonymous said...

7:57,
The "ESL" nannies?
I feel sorry for your parents. They must feel such remorse that the daughter they raised is a racist, elitist pig.

Anonymous said...

I think 8:41 meant 3:39.

and I TTTTTT A with her.

Anonymous said...

I am not that poster, but how is it being an elitist pig if you have a problem understanding why a parent would choose someone who cannot articulate ENglish? Those poor children. They must be in time outs all of the time because they don't know what the hell the nanny is saying. Crunchy peanut on her head?

As for 7:57, I am sure her parents are quite delighted with her. I don't understand how parents can hire a nanny that cannot grasp common terms. This is quite frankly FRIGHTENING!

Anonymous said...

A british friend of mine refers to those strappy, crude leather sandals as "Jesus Creepers". I like it. lol

Anonymous said...

7:57 PM
ESL has nothing to do with literacy, It means it is their SECOND language. How many languages are you fluent in BTW? Being familiar with pop culture terms such as crunchy and Jesus sandals is not an indication of intelligence or education. My guess is that quite a few Professors at Harvard don't use those terms

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what OP meant by "crunchy", and "religious/Jesus" sandals -- those of you that don't need to come out from under your rock. Why do you have to be so crude and nasty? I hope that the obnoxious posters that felt the need to berate the OP haven't any children .... your manners are atrocious! It's really pathetic that anyone that even posts a bad nanny sighting as of late gets verbally assulted on these boards ... keep it up jerks, and people will be too afraid to report these incidents anymore.
Ro (3:45) & gongshow (8:46) ~ thank you for lightening things up around here ... love your sense of humor!

Anonymous said...

Can we forget the Culture Wars and get back to the point: whatever this nanny was wearing, she wasn't paying enough attention to this kid? Point taken.

Anonymous said...

11:12, you need to get a clue. Just because someone is not fluent in English doesn't mean they are not a wonderful childcare provider. On the same token, just because someone can speak English, like you, doesn't mean they are a good parent or nanny.
There are many many women and men who care for children and teach and have broken accents. You sound ignorant. As one poster said, ESL doesn't mean stupid, it means you are learning another language. You make me sick, you little Nazi.

Anonymous said...

Franky how is a child going to learn proper English, if her primary caregiver doesn't speak English fluently? English doesn't have to be your first language, but be fluent enough to teach children their primary language.

Anonymous said...

I don't see it as a problem hiring a nanny who's first language is not English as long as they can comprehend the basics. I would take advantage of the fact that they can speak another language and have them teach my children a second language. It's all about how you look at things. You can spend your time dewelling on the negatives or you can make the situation work for you in a positive way.

I once had a Portuguese nanny who spoke very little English but I was so impressed with my child's knowledge of the Portuguese language in such a short time. And guess what? She is now skipping a grade because she is so ahead of her class.

But the issue here is not about ESL or making a fashion statement. It's about someone ignoring a child in her care, which is unacceptable.

Anonymous said...

I'm new to this site, but, geez!

3:39 and 8:41: You both need to get with the times. I am a 40-year-old mother of a six-year old, and even *I* know what "crunchy" and "religious-looking sandals" imply. There's a cool site, urbandictionary.com, for looking up slang terms you may not know. And ESl has nothing to do with it. Not like these terms are common knowledge, unless slang is being taught in college these days!

The whole point was this nanny was more engrossed in her literature than being responsible for her charge. Stick to the facts instead of bashing people...especially when you are out of the loop yourself.

Anonymous said...

It is absolutely 100 percent selfish and idiotic to hire a nanny who speaks less than fluent English. It is thoughtless to do this in an attempt to teach your young child a second language. People hire nannies for their children so that they can socialize and attend extra curricular classes and play learning activities in their home. The old "I want my child to learn English" translates to nothing less than "I am a cheap ass bitch". Do not think for one minute you are kidding ANYONE with your ridiculous argument. People who don't speak English are BARGAIN BASEMENT, scratch and dent merchandise. Always discount.

I feel terrible for your child. I imagine the small social circle she is relegated to. Other parents who also choose subpar childcare for their children. You have doomed your child to failure by prematurely linking her with those children who will fail to thrive and blossom in the real world.

Anonymous said...

8:06,
I actually understand your point about a good nanny speaking English well. I think when you are teaching a young child, an infant or a toddler to speak, it's important that the accent and grammar are correct. That much is true.
However, I've got to say, you sound like a real jerk. I'm so glad I don't know you.

Anonymous said...

I read quite a bit and never heard the term 'Crunchy'

And using "Jesus sandals" would be as offensive to Most Christinas as saying "He had a Jew Beard" would be to people of Jewish faith.

As a mom if a kid was abusing my child you better believe I would find their parent or caregiver and let them have it. I have done it in the past more than once. I once observed a woman repeateldy slapping a 6 year old in a store . I not only told the woman off but when she hit the child again i discreetly followed them home in my car and called the police when I saw where they lived and filed a report. The child was promptly removed from deplorable conditions.

Anonymous said...

to wit Religious Sandals.
Who doesn't know that them three kings wore sandals and what have you? They weren't tripping across the desert in the desert in workboots or uggs. Hell, even I know Moses, Noah and that Joseph be wearing some mad lookin woven sandles. And a Jesus beard? A Jew beard? Dude, Jesus was a Jew, so quit your player hatin'.