A glimpse of public transporation...

Let's meet some of the people from my train rides to work and home, shall we?

There's the man who announces every morning that people need to get out of his way and let him go because he's not trying to miss the connecting train downstairs. I'm sorry, I missed the memo stating it was more important for you to catch the train than any of the rest of us, since surely you're the only one who has a job he needs to get to on time. That place where I go for 8 hours or so everyday, ya, that's just for the fun of it. Forgive me, I didn't realize yours was so much more important. By all means, push and shove everyone out of the way so the train can still be pulling out when you get there. (Face it, if you're at the top of the stairs when the train pulls in, you can't make it. That's all there is to it.)

There's the man who plays his guitar and sings on the train to get donations from people. He says he, his girlfriend and their small daughter are homeless and this is how they survive. He sings and plays well enough, but I'm not quite buying the homeless story.

There's the man right behind him selling candy for some cause or another. There's a few of these floating around. One man sells for a youth choir. I've seen a father with his little girl selling for some reason. There's this man I saw today, I'm not sure what he sells for either. I've also seen a couple selling hats and such on cold days.

And of course, there's the man who stands in the middle of the train and announces the day of the Lord is coming and everyone needs to repent and trust in Jesus Christ as their savior. While I agree with him on those points, I'm not sure disrupting everyone on the train is really the way to preach the gospel effectively. Really it makes him look crazy and fanatical and mostly annoys the heck out of people who are just trying to get where they need to go in a timely and reasonably peaceful manner. I don't think it really serves his message very well.

And the one to take the cake for today is the man I saw relieving himself at the train station. I think he thought no one would notice, but he was at the top of the stairs down to the buses, and I happened to use those stairs today and it was pretty obvious what he was doing. You can't just wait until you get home or go before leaving work like everyone else?! Yes, I also had to go, but I waited until I was home! (And no, I don't think he was homeless or anything.)

Occassionally there will be a person who isn't quite there mentally and something will set them off and they'll just rant and rant and rant about anything and everything until they get off the train. I met up with one a couple weeks ago, and learned that she had gotten in an argument with another rider and apparently she was aiming this whole rant at this other girl. It was really disturbing in a way, but we were also laughing a little because it was just insane. She made no sense, and she just kept talking and swearing. All of us got off at the same stop, and I'm wondering if she started up again with the other girl after they were away from the train.

Oh, and my favorites. The people who insist on cramming their stroller or bicycle onto an already crowded train. There's barely room to stand, and this person is going to take up more space with a bike, or with a stroller she won't fold up and hold the child! This is probably my biggest pet peeve on the train. (The guy who thinks he's more entitled to catch the train than the rest of us is a close 2nd!)

It's amazing to me what people do on the trains, although I can see if you want a lot of people and essentially a captive audience, the train is the place to go. I would be embarassed to death to do any of these things, but I guess it means it's never boring to ride....