Crying in Public - Hand Me the Tissue

"I talked to Dewey for a few minutes. I told him how much I loved him, how much he meant to me, how much I didn't want him to suffer. I explained what was happening and why. I rewrapped his blanket to make sure he was comfortable. What more could I offer him than comfort? I cradled him in my arms and rocked back and forth from foot to foot, a habit started when he was a kitten. Dr. Beall gave him the first shot, followed closely by the second.  He said, "I'll check for a heartbeat." I said, You don't need to. I can see it in his eyes." Dewey was gone."  ~ from Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

It's always the animals that get me.  I was sitting waiting for a train in Westport, NY and finishing Dewey, while people milled around me.  And geez, he dies.  I'm sobbing, and here I sit in a public place.  Can't stop crying.  It's always the animals that get me.  

So why are we so embarrassed when we cry in public? Is this cultural?  Do readers in Italy or Japan try to cover their tears so no one can see if they read something that makes them cry?  It's a bit different in movie theaters--the darkness hides all but the most uncontrollable sobs.  But no one wants to sit on a train or in a waiting room filled with people, and read that their favorite character has passed away--or read that the book's beloved dog or cat or bird has gone over the rainbow bridge, only to have the tears start flowing.

So what about you?  Do you pretend that you have something in your eye? Allergies?  Not care? Do you have a story about when you got caught out in public reading something heartbreaking?

More on crying in public over a sad book:

http://somanybooksblog.com/2013/02/06/crying-in-public-while-reading/

http://bookriot.com/2013/02/05/what-to-do-when-books-make-you-cry-on-public-transportation/