Monday, April 16, 2007

metro monday: and it's not good for your posture, either

i had actually been wondering a few weeks ago if i'd run through all the possible bad behaviors on the metro. what a fool i was. the possible opportunities for rudeness are, i think we can all agree, endless.

a train was pulling in as i sulked down the escalator (it is monday, after all) ... and i'd usually just wait for the next train, but it didn't seem too full (perhaps because of this?) so i decided to jump on. i made my way to a spot next to the floor-to-ceiling bar, sat my bag on the ground, and went to reach for the bar when it happened. the college girl next to me leaned her whole body against the bar.

oooooh, i hate the leaners.

she was leaning from thigh to head, sideways, with even her frizzy, crazy, curly hair wrapping around the bar. and the thing is, i'm not a tall girl. in fact, i can't tell someone i'm 5'3" (but i AM!) without b snorting a little. i can't reach the overhead bar, and reaching the bar above this girl's head was, at best, uncomfortable. usually, when i get a leaner, i wait for them to shift and move momentarily away from the bar so i can stick my hand in where the middle of their back hits the bar, but she was vigilant. not even the jerkiness of the conductor's stops could peel her away from that bar.

is it really not obvious that leaning your whole body against the bar during rush hour is rude? really? huh.

ok then, here it is:

there are other people that would like to steady themselves with the help of that handy-dandy bar. it's actually not there for you to lean your whole body up against so you can look suave and relaxed while you read your metro express. turns out, it's there so that a group of people can each put one of their hands on it. at the same time. and avoid falling onto one another when the conductor slams on the breaks. so let's share, hm?

(wow, this common sense thing is a lot trickier than i thought, isn't it?)

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