Leave Me Alone
This is how I know I will never give up my car (ok, so it's a luxury convertible -- but that's not the point).
I hate public transportation. The key word here is "public." I never take the bus and hardly ever use cabs. That leaves the subway, which really is the best way to get around on weekdays.
As convenient as it is (if you live in the heart of the city, as I do), I hate it. I hate being trapped underground with strangers. I especially hate being trapped in a subway car with strangers getting way too close. Strangers on the subway are just stranger than strangers on the street and you can not escape them once the subway doors shut.
Some people are babe magnets. Me, I am a magnet for strange people who ride the subway.
Today's encounter. A wild-eyed wild-haired middle-aged woman enters my car screaming at someone behind her -- only there's no one behind her. The car is half empty, but she plops down in the row of seats next to mine.
I can hear her mumbling angrily, at a level that in audible only to me. I casually turn to check out my surroundings -- in case I have to make a police report later. But I'm really stealing a glance at her and I believe she knows it. She glaring at me with mean eyes and still talking.
Thankfully, it will be a short ride, three subway stops. Of course, she exits at my stop, still mumbling. I give her some distance and head for the stairs opposite the ones she's taking. I'm relieved and just a little ashamed and feeling a bit silly.
The woman was carrying a brief case, a very nice purse and wearing a really cool black leather jacket. Maybe what I'm seeing is just her defense technique, one that's far more effective than the IPod I use. One that screams: "Don't Mess With Me."
I mean, really, who's going to bother a middle-aged, wild-eyed, wild-haired woman muttering angrily to herself?
I hate public transportation. The key word here is "public." I never take the bus and hardly ever use cabs. That leaves the subway, which really is the best way to get around on weekdays.
As convenient as it is (if you live in the heart of the city, as I do), I hate it. I hate being trapped underground with strangers. I especially hate being trapped in a subway car with strangers getting way too close. Strangers on the subway are just stranger than strangers on the street and you can not escape them once the subway doors shut.
Some people are babe magnets. Me, I am a magnet for strange people who ride the subway.
Today's encounter. A wild-eyed wild-haired middle-aged woman enters my car screaming at someone behind her -- only there's no one behind her. The car is half empty, but she plops down in the row of seats next to mine.
I can hear her mumbling angrily, at a level that in audible only to me. I casually turn to check out my surroundings -- in case I have to make a police report later. But I'm really stealing a glance at her and I believe she knows it. She glaring at me with mean eyes and still talking.
Thankfully, it will be a short ride, three subway stops. Of course, she exits at my stop, still mumbling. I give her some distance and head for the stairs opposite the ones she's taking. I'm relieved and just a little ashamed and feeling a bit silly.
The woman was carrying a brief case, a very nice purse and wearing a really cool black leather jacket. Maybe what I'm seeing is just her defense technique, one that's far more effective than the IPod I use. One that screams: "Don't Mess With Me."
I mean, really, who's going to bother a middle-aged, wild-eyed, wild-haired woman muttering angrily to herself?
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