My cellphone was my set alarm clock, but Benji was like a rooster on a farm. I usually got 8 hours of sleep - we never typically stayed out past 9pm - but it always felt like less. He’d wake up at 7am, have his breakfast, get ready for school, and watch some cartoons. Always the same ones, always loud, high-pitched, Czech characters talking about the day. Benji never stopped talking. I never heard Renata, who spoke in low, sultry tones. She never disciplined her son, and at times, it seemed as though she didn’t quite know what to do with him. They were never home, when I finally rose at 8:30am; Benji went to Hebrew School, and Renata went to work at her shop near Old Town Square. She even took the dog with her. That was the difference, between Europe and America. In Europe, animals are well behaved, plentiful, and commonly found in shops. In America, you’d be sued if someone found even so much as a goldfish on your counter-top.
