The Joys of Commuting
Outside of avoiding the stampeding drones of business people during my commute, I’ve stumbled upon some very special individuals…
• Claustrophobic man on the PATH train - one morning during rush-hour (when the car is packed wall to wall with people), the PATH train stops, as it always does, because of signals. A few people away from me was a man who started rocking back and forth and whimpering. Then it escalated and he started jumping up and down, yelling and then started unbuttoning his shirt and then undressing. Someone on the train told him he needed to calm down, close his eyes and go to his happy place, and the train would be moving momentarily.
• Crazy woman on corner - one evening while I was walking back from campus to Newark Penn Station, I came to an intersection. All of a sudden, I heard someone yell, “Don’t walk right, walk straight! Walk straight!” I looked back and saw the women, and nodded and smiled since I assumed that she knew of cement work or something that wasn’t marked and was just warning me. Then I walked more to the left. Then she yelled again, “Walk straight! Walk straight! Or else you’ll step on the Virgin Mary!” I sped up my pace as quickly as I could.
• Man who bathes in cologne - I have only sat next to this person once on the commuter train. I smell assaulted me. I tried to breath through my mouth, but the odor was so overwhelming it was unavoidable. I had to walk through several cars to escape him and stood for the 40 minute ride.
• Man who thinks he is in a rock concert - on the rush-hour train home, a guy listens to his iPod, while singing aloud, projecting his voice and playing air drums on the person in front of him. Occasionally, the person in front of him would growl and he would apologize.
• Claustrophobic man on the PATH train - one morning during rush-hour (when the car is packed wall to wall with people), the PATH train stops, as it always does, because of signals. A few people away from me was a man who started rocking back and forth and whimpering. Then it escalated and he started jumping up and down, yelling and then started unbuttoning his shirt and then undressing. Someone on the train told him he needed to calm down, close his eyes and go to his happy place, and the train would be moving momentarily.
• Crazy woman on corner - one evening while I was walking back from campus to Newark Penn Station, I came to an intersection. All of a sudden, I heard someone yell, “Don’t walk right, walk straight! Walk straight!” I looked back and saw the women, and nodded and smiled since I assumed that she knew of cement work or something that wasn’t marked and was just warning me. Then I walked more to the left. Then she yelled again, “Walk straight! Walk straight! Or else you’ll step on the Virgin Mary!” I sped up my pace as quickly as I could.
• Man who bathes in cologne - I have only sat next to this person once on the commuter train. I smell assaulted me. I tried to breath through my mouth, but the odor was so overwhelming it was unavoidable. I had to walk through several cars to escape him and stood for the 40 minute ride.
• Man who thinks he is in a rock concert - on the rush-hour train home, a guy listens to his iPod, while singing aloud, projecting his voice and playing air drums on the person in front of him. Occasionally, the person in front of him would growl and he would apologize.