Took the 18:43 home last night. It's been a crappy week for me. Actually, the last several months have been pretty shitty. I'm at the end of my rope and it's fraying fast. I'm having a difficult time keeping my anger in check.
Leaving this early (yeah, that's early for me...remember I take the 7:15 in the morning) is a bit of a treat. I'm looking forward to reading my book on the train, then going home, vegging in front of the television and doing absolutely nothing.
I sit in the front car, second level, alone in the quad by the stairs. There's a woman alone in the quad across from me. She is curled up in her seat, facing the window. She's chatting on the phone. Loudly.
My teeth grind, my jaw aches from the tension. My head is pounding. I can feel myself morph into some raging monster and I want to jump across the aisle and throttle her. I wonder where I can hide the body.
I wait about ten minutes. She only gets louder. I can't take it any more.
I shush her. Really loud, too.
SHHHH!!!
Her head snaps around. She is genuinely horrified. She holds her hand up and whispers, "Sorry! I'm so sorry!"
And she is quiet the rest of the ride home. She talks on the phone the whole way, but I can barely hear her.
Thank you for that. I don't know who you are, or if our paths will ever cross again, but thank you for shushing. Thank you.
3 comments:
Generally people are respectful of such requests. Most loudmouths have no idea they've now reached a level of decibel that is no longer acceptable.
Sadly, C.J., I seem to always get the loudies who need to tell me it's none of my damn business how loud they talk. This woman was a pleasant surprise for me. It will be a while before I forget her.
When anyone challenges me when I ask them to 'tone it down'. I reply with ... "the right to your private conversation, ends at my eardrums, so shut the f*ck up"
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