Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 8:05 a.m.

There was a woman (probably homeless) sleeping in the parallel seats. She had one of those carts that you wheel to the grocery store with her. Her cart would roll back and forth as the train moved. There was a older, Asian who would politely push the cart back to this woman each time it touched her.

This cart was the Berlin Wall. People who entered would not cross the force field this cart presented. People amassed each stop in the doorway.

FInally, one brave man broke through the barrier and stood in the center of the aisle. Nobody sat in the empty seat next to this woman the entire ride.

She was awake when I got out at Lake and seemed pretty oblivious to the world around her.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 5:10 p.m.

I saw a seat that was available on the aisle. The train was unusually quiet. The woman sitting in the window seat shouted "I get off at Chicago so you go in. One second while I get up. Ok. Now Scoot"