I was in London on a research project. I would take the Underground from my lodging in North London to the British Museum. One morning during the rush hour, I was busy reading my London Times when a young man, standing in front of me, asked me if I was from New York. Surprised at the question, I answered "Yes. How can you tell?"

"Only New Yorkers fold their newspapers like that," he said, smiling, and pointing to my paper, folded in half the long way so that it could be read on the crowded subway without interfering with other riders.

Edward Lavitt is a retired elementary school guidance counselor. He has co-authored three anthologies for children: Third-World Voices for Children: Stories from Africa and the Caribbean, In the Beginning: Creation stories from all over the world for children, and Nihancan's Feast of Beaver: American Indian animal tales.