Quit staring at me...

One of my more peculiar traits is the ability to appear fascinating to babies, toddlers and small children.

As I sat at my laptop in Starfucks this afternoon, a woman came by the table next me as she waited for the bathroom to become available. She had a small son who couldn't have been more than 16 months or so -- and who stared at me, his little brown eyes utterly transfixed.

"I'm so sorry," gasped the poor woman, who appeared rather flustered. "I don't know what's wrong with him."

I very kindly explained that this was not an unusual occurrence, and that not only was it normal, but it didn't bother me at all.

"Really?" she asked. "Most people would find that unsettling."

"Nah," I said. "Happens all the time, so it doesn't bother me a bit."

But I can't help but think this is not exactly a normal thing. And part of me wonders if maybe those babies know something about me that adults and older children can't see.

What I do know is that babies will usually stare at me, and small children will tend to come grab my hand and have me play with them. Hell, even in Cambodia, those kids knew exactly which of our group would chat with them, ask them questions, and hand over US dollar bills if they were handy: ME.

Just another of my peculiarities, I guess.