This man.
So I get on
the 4:15 off-peak train today and there are very few other people on the train,
as it as a Saturday in the afternoon. So this guy gets on the train at the last
minute and sits down next to me. Out of all the empty seats on the train, he
chooses to sit next to me. Anyway, he then precedes to pull out his newspaper
and start reading. However, he then puts the newspaper on the seat across from
him, takes his shoes off, and puts his feet on the seat. Anyway, after that,
the doors close and the conductor starts his rounds and he sees my pass and
then checks this man's ticket (he had a single-ride ticket which is a clear
indicator that he is not a frequent commuter). However, as the conductor walks
away, this man yells "Does this train stop at long beach?". Everyone
in the rows near him is now looking at him, and with good reason, considering
that this was the 4:15 train to long beach.
It said
long beach at the entrance to the station
It said
long beach at the sign on the concourse
It said
long beach on the sign at the top of the stairs
it said
long beach on the sign on the platform
It said
long beach on the side of the train
It said
long beach inside the train
Now you may
be thinking, "but what if he thought it may have been a misnomer?,"
but alas, all of the signs i mentioned before also had scrolling screens with
all of the stops on the train. Before the conductor even came to my row, the
automatic announcements
had
come on and said "This is the train to Long Beach. Stopping at: ......, Long
Beach." The engineer then got on the intercom and repeated the
same announcement.
So, the
conductor turns around and says yes, but this man then proceeds to say
"and it only stops at Long Beach, correct.?" As you can see from the
attached picture, this man was in clear line of sight of the sign that said the
next stop is Jamaica, but we have already ruled out this man's ability to
comprehend his surroundings, considering he is wearing no shoes even though the
heating in that car was not working (also why a in the picture fellow passenger
was wearing a coat), and missed every single bloody sign that screamed the
destination.
Proof of
how obvious this was is listed below (although these were taken off the web so
they have different routes, but the idea remains):
(Stair
Displays)
(Platform
Displays)
(sign
outside train)
At this
point, one of the other passengers (visible on far left) steps in and says no,
this train stops at Jamaica, valley stream, etc.
This man
did not like this.
He demanded
a refund from the conductor, who refused, God bless his soul. He then calmed
down a bit and returned to reading his paper. He kept leaning over his bag to
get various things out of his pocket and came disturbingly close to me,
but I chose not to say anything.
However,
when I went to get up at for my stop (consider this man was blocking the way
into the isle with his legs) and asked him politely to move his legs, he did
not respond. I asked him, and he grunted. So I had to step over his legs to get
off my train.
Did I
mention he had his bag on the seat next to me too?
