A loving tribute

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 8:05 a.m.

There was a man walking in front of me to the Berwyn stop. He had on what we called in college a "doo-rag" (sp?) which is a bandana worn over the head. He also had a chain to his wallet and was smoking. I could not take the smoke this morning so I quick stepped past him and noticed on his arm a tattoo that said "Father" 1953 - some year that I could not make out. I thought that was a nice tribute although I hope my father is not expecting the same kind of tribute.

There was a woman reading her paper with a coffee cup in the aisle seat next to her. So she felt that this special cup of coffee deserved its own seat. She never actually took a drink of the coffee, it just sat there. Luckily, the train was not crowded so the coffee never had to stand and hold the rail nor was the train all that rocking.

This woman sat next to me who reminded me of this actress I worked with in 1999 that got fired from the show. I was panicking about striking up a conversation akin to "sorry it didn't work out" or "were you able to get some work after that". The woman was fired from the show during preview week for not getting to role or the emotional connection with the character which is a big ouch for an actor. Fortunately, it was not her but I did not discover this until leaving the train.

Right after the train, I went to the White Hen to get breakfast. The woman in front of me in line was buying Tampax and carrying and half-drunk bottle of Merlot with a screw cap. She also was a purse-fumbler.

Friday, August 18, 2006 - 8:48 a.m.

I drove today and parked in the lot by the IBM building with the Dunkin Donuts in it. When I got about 20 yards from the parking garage. Someone had spilled their munchkins - those donut hole things - all over the sidewalk. The box was gone and the birds had not gotten to them yet. The pattern that they fell on the ground made it look like an art installation with the different colors of chocolate, glazed, powdersugar and cinnamon.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - 4:32 p.m

There was a man who needed lots of room for his nuts or something since he sat with his legs wide apart. I was able to get one ass cheek on the seat and the other hung out in the aisle. Fortunately, he got out at Chicago.

The woman sitting in the parellel seat ahead of me had the largest bag overflowing with crap. She spent the first part of the ride reading The Artist's Way. Then she pulled out what looked to be like a gallon jug of watered down chocolate milk. That was followed by her taking out a bottle of baby powder and proceeding to shake it, then wipe it on her feet.

Fresh Paint

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - 8:28 a.m.

The Berwyn station had "Fresh Paint" signs on it again. This is the fourth time in the past month. There appears to be painting going on frequently at my station yet I never see painters or things that appear to be painted. It feels like a big tease game like if someone put a sign on something that said "Don't Touch This" and then sees how many people touch it.

There was a woman who was talking loudly on her cell phone about the problems with her selling and buying a house. The person on the other line got an earful about how awful this process has been for her.

Two men who used to be co-workers ran into each other on the train and proceeded to sit together and catch up. They talked about their current jobs and one man still works for the place they use to work together so there was some gossip catch-up. Typical of these situations, one of the them was more interested in catching up than the other.

Friday, August 11, 2006 - 3 p.m.

A waiter got on a sat in the seat across the aisle. He was talking on his cell phone and his name was Adam. Young, early 20s, probably gay, really cute.

He struck up a conversation with the two different people that sat with him. The first conversation was not that interesting but the second conversation was with a woman around the same age as him. Somehow it came out that he works for the Weber Grill. He used to work some other restaurant where this womans ex-boyfriend worked whose name is Cory.

They proceeded to agree that Cory is really an asshole. This woman was with him for five years and now is very bitter about that relationship. Adam seemed flabbergasted at how small the world is in Chicago.

Friday, August 11, 2006 - 8:08 a.m.

I am one of those liberals that pride myself as not having prejudices and being open to all kinds of people. Doesn't matter what of those qualities you have in the non-discrimination clause of the HR manual - I accept them all.

I also realize that everyone has some pre-conceived notion about various types of people and I realize that most people do not to admit they have them. It is always unsettling when you realize these things about yourself.

A man got on the train two stops after mine. The first thing I noticed was his thick beard which he seemed to start petting obsessively.

Then he began having a very loud conversation with the air. He was commenting to people on the train about women putting on make-up. How this must be the make-up train and how he once went to a wedding and took pictures of all the women wishing they would not wear make-up. There was a man sitting next to him who politely chit-chatted but then announced that his stop was coming up and he had to get off the train (I am not believing him and I would guess he got on the next train).

So nobody is responding to the loud talking man so he starts an animated monologue in Arabic. This after the country has been properly scared by terrorists and the Republican leadership about how nobody is safe (whoops - I forgot I welcome all people including Republicans).

I felt uneasy. I could not put my finger on whether it was just the loud talking and crazy person bothering me or if I really thought he was carrying some sort of gun/bomb/weapon of mass destruction in his cloth tote.

I am going to admit that it was a little of both.

I got off at Belmont and changed trains.

Have the terrorists won then? Have I succumbed to fear? Am I one to point my finger at one ethnic and religious group?

Nothing happened of course and I wish I would have stayed on the train - but then maybe I would not have had to face my own realization of the prejudices that I carry.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 - 8:06 a.m.

First day back to work after a trip to visit my family. The el provides such a dose of reality when you return from vacation. It jars you back into a regular routine and is a strong reminder that you are not on vacation anymore.

The train was eerily quiet and empty. It filled up later but everyone north of Berwyn had to already have been at work.

A young man sat next to me wearing those large earphones - like the kind pilots wear. His reading choice was Machiavelli's "The Prince".

A very large man sat in the row in front of me. He leaned over to this other guy who was wearing iPod earbuds and asked him the time. The iPod guy shrugged him off. This must have made the man very tired because he then slumped his head down so far that from behind - he looked headless. He also had a very bright hawaiian-esque shirt on.