So-look for a future post on the shooting I witnessed. But in the mean time-Cray Cray on the Train Train.
First-Bus Etiquette! Peeps-let's move to the back of the bus when the bus is full. And if someone moves-can we please move back and let everyone breathe some fresh air. Let's be honest-being smushed up with some Chi-Town strangers smelling of post work-not so fresh. So ALL that I'm asking is: If we have some room to spread out, and YOU are the person making that not happen, you will feel my eyes boring holes into your skull; especially if you don't even squish in enough for those of us, who do have some bus decency, to move around you.
Red Lind Of Hell. That's what I call it. Can the red line be some interesting, verging on scary, people watching. Yes. But that verging on the scary, isn't usually scary funny, it's scary unabalanced person-and this could go either way. Exhibit A: Young man a couple mornings ago at around 6a.m. He looked clean and "normal" but, once he opened his mouth you realized that something was up. It started with a "Hello" to the upper 50ish woman walking past him to a seat. She being so kind, said hello back. Her danger radar was a little off. This simple "Hello" opened the flood gates of cray cray. This young man was looking for something to do until his "date" at 8a.m. and was asking her opinion on what he should do. BUT he didn't want to go into the "bad" parts of town. So she politely humored him and suggested he ride the train around. That's when he asked to accompany her and they could take a "special" trip together. (Finally-she realized all was not well on the western front). Because out of nowhere he started exclaiming how they (she and him) needed to talk about the Trayvon verdict (yes things got really awkward); she needed to talk to him so he could wear his hoodie...yeah-where do you go from there right? I mean, we can have that discussion-but is this a discussion you have with a stranger on the train at 6am in the morning? And do we need to have the conversation so loudly? And what is this special trip you want to go on? It doesn't sound like a good special?
Riding the Red Line during Cubs games is always horrible. As if the Red Line didn't already smell enough like urine and vomit. Now if the Cubs lose, which we know happens often enough, it's sort of a quiet depressing beer soaked crowded ride. People sweating their miller lite out of their bodies while quietly sobering up, feeling defeated (oddly-cause it happens often enough you think they'd be used to it) -but Cubs fans don't give up-they really think they're going to go all the way every year. I'm from Cleveland-I know that kind of hope-but let's be real peeps.
Now Red Line when they win? KILL ME! It's every douche bag screaming like they just won the Super Bowl (and hey I get it-you have to savor EVERY win, because it might just be your last). But really-if I wanted to go to a Wrigleyville Bar-I would have. But the fact that your one "buddy" can't stand up, is practically comatose in his own beer slobber vomit dripping from his mouth, and is now taking up four seats and the old lady with a walker can't sit down; well, my patience has runneth out.
I relish the days I get a new train car on the red line. They don't have that icky feel-like you can catch an STD by just holding onto the rail. Because yes-there are trains that I feel that way.
For Divergent fans-you will get this reference. There is nothing more uncomfortable than the Red Line in the early early hours of the morning. 4:30 am and I get on the bus; and it smells like a lovely mix of BO, trash and feces. The doors close, and that's when you realize that you're on the equivalent of a Factionless train. At any point one of these people can turn on you for no other reason than you woke them up-BECAUSE-you didn't know that this was the sleeping car for the red line homeless riders. (P.S. Some look familiar from my days of kicking certain people out of a certain bookstore for bathing in my bathrooms). Now I am all for homeless people riding the train all day and night-I would if I were homeless. However, when they all turn and look at you in unison, at 4:30 in the morning, it's like one of those moments that I can only imagine Tris felt the first time she got on a factionless train, or any touring prospective student felt during a tour, of the now closed, Henry dorm at Hiram. It's FREAKY. And freaky in a scary way and not a funny way (unless we're talking about the Henry Dorm lounge-that's freaky funny).
Alas, that's all for now on the train. Look for something coming about this shooting I just witnessed-cause that's some crazy shit!
