Oddities and Observations

When my office moved another 15 or so miles out, and added at best another 40 minutes a day to my commute, I decided taking the train was a good option, at least 2-3 days each week.  It doesn't cut the time down, but for an hour each day that I "train it", I can sit in a degree of comfort and quiet and read, or play games, or just gaze out the window as I pass a variety of neighborhoods and communities.  It's a nice buffer between home and work that I used to enjoy while driving.  In Chicago, however, driving is not ever a mindless, autopilot activity.  That is, if you value your car and your life.

Riding the train has presented additional opportunity for observations of people and life around me.  Some funny, some sad, but most just stuff that makes me wonder.  At one point a couple of weeks ago, I realized I had quite a little list of things that I would not otherwise have been exposed to.  So of course, me being me, decided to list them.  I'll probably forget a few but here are some of the most prevalent.

A sudden phobia
This month I reached a milestone I had never before known; I paid off my car.  I actually kept a new car for 5 years and now it's mine.  This might not be a big deal for some, but to not have a car payment is an amazing feat for me.  Two things I learned from this:  I'll never finance a car for 60 months again, and I am suddenly terrified that something will happen to my car.  I'm more nervous about people behind me not stopping in time, or people changing lanes on top of me, or any of the dozens of reasons to wreck I face every day that I drive around here.  I feel like it would just be my luck that, now that I've finally reached ownership, it will be short-lived.

For someone who's never worried much about having a wreck - I feel like I'm a pretty cautious and aware driver - this is an uncomfortable state.  More reason to take the train as much as I can.  More reason to get back to the South and away from stop-and-roll daily traffic.

Dancing Dave
In Huntsville there is (or was?) a guy famous for being out in the bars every weekend in his mismatched shirt and shorts, and socks pulled almost to his knees.  That's not why he was famous - his fame came from how he would ask every female in the place to dance.  He was "Dancing Dave", a man to be avoided if at all possible.  I don't think he was quite all-together, but he took rejection better than anyone I've known.

I thought of Dave when, while waiting for the inbound train, I noticed a guy dancing to some song in his own head.  Stepping, turning, stopping and doing it again, like he's practicing something.  Which he may be.  It's just odd, this guy standing on the platform with other commuters and in his own world.  While he's a bit dorky and garners his share of suspicious glances, I gotta give it to him.....I wouldn't have the nerve to practice dance moves on the train platform to music in my head.  Then again, I do stand on the corner waiting on the light to change and bob or move my head to whatever song is in my head at the time.  I have a problem standing still - maybe he does too.

The death of chivalry
Now that the weather is better and the days are longer, I walk to and from Union Station most days.  But I have to take a Pace bus (Pace is the suburban transit service) between the train station and the office.  We have a lot of commuters on our bus, and many times it's packed to the gills.  In the good ol' days, a packed bus would mean at least one thing - if a woman didn't have a seat, a gentleman would get up and offer his.  No more.  No one has ever offered me their seat, nor any of the other women that may be standing perilously on 3 inch heels holding a purse and laptop bag or lunch bag or whatever other bag (women always have at least one large bag and usually 2).  In fact I'm sure any of those guys would be annoyed if a woman lost her footing rounding a curve and toppled over in his lap.

This is not really surprising; women fought for equal treatment and by golly we get it in many ways.  I never know if a door will be opened for me, or if I'll be expected to exit the elevator first.  It's a generational thing. Most older men still have gentlemanly manners, most younger men do not.  Not in the work world at least.  Women are no longer the weaker sex; they are competition for jobs.  And they just might bite your head off if you open a door for them.  So offering up your seat on a bus could be viewed as condescension, and I for one would be embarrassed to take some poor kids seat.  Unless I have heels on that day.

Push-me Pull-you
I've learned being pulled by the train engine is a much smoother ride than being pushed.  In the morning I'm pulled and the ride is relatively jerk-free.  In the afternoon we bounce and sway and jerk and sometimes feel like we're going to jump the track.  In the afternoon, the engine is at the back of the train, pushing us home aggressively, almost angrily.  In the afternoon, you don't try to write, or type.  Or put on lipstick.

Us vs. Them
Suburbanites are more important than townies.  I never read that rule anywhere, but it's very evident in the station.  When they get off the train in the morning, those of us waiting to board better be out of the way.  If we're on the platform already, we huddle up close to the train and wait for the mob to pass and the cars are cleared before trying to board.  In the evening, they are impatiently gathered on the platform, bumping and shoving as you try to exit the train and get the hell out of their way.  It makes me want to yell "I have someplace I have to be too, and why is your someplace more important than mine??????".  Yeah, well, there's more of them than us, and they don't get to have a seat to themselves.  If they don't hurry, they might even be standing for the trip of 30-40 minutes.  Heaven help them if they're wearing heels.  Oh, and this rule also applies entering and exiting the station.  Like running the wrong way in a marathon.

Thanks where it's due
Aside from the shoving and lack of seat offerings, people are still generally nice.  You might think that bus drivers have a thankless job.  They deal with all manner of people, from thugs to prima donnas to free-ride seekers.  They deal with traffic and pedestrians and try to stay on schedule.  They manage to get you to where you're going, and amazingly you can count on them to be where they're supposed to be at about the time they're supposed to be there.  Does anyone thank them for this?  Yes.  Almost everyone leaving a bus will tell the driver "thanks" or "have a good day".  They don't get tipped like cab drivers.  They are responsible for hundreds of lives every day, are patient and even when your fare card doesn't work, they'll let you on, although they may grumble a little.  Most riders seem to acknowledge all of this, and express their appreciation.  Saying "thanks" may not seem like much, but I'll bet it's nice to hear.  At least it's good to know that we're not all so caught up in our busy lives that we fail to give a "thank you" where it's due.

So....More to add to my list of "things I'll miss" when I leave the city.  Available transit is a wonderful thing.  Seth came to visit last weekend and couldn't get a cab to the airport in Huntsville at 5 a.m.  Well, he could get one but he would have to wait 40 minutes.  Here you can't walk out the door without seeing a cab, several in fact.  And there's the trains and buses.  And you never have to wait more than a few minutes for any of them.  While these luxuries are not really needed in a small city like Huntsville, going back to driving everywhere I go, whether to work or out to eat or shop, will make me a little sad.  It's so much more fun to sit and let someone else do the driving for you.