I always think about not paying the 1.25 to ride the train to work, but always chicken out. No one is truly watching. It runs by the honor system here in LA so if no one stops you, it's not a big deal. I never do it, until the other day when I was forced to because the train I catch departs at 9:24 a.m. and it was 9:23! No problems! Yes, I am a complete nerd. However, this morning, a family was getting the shake down by a police officer on the train because they didn't have tickets. I guess it's luck of the draw.
Paying the 1.25 is worth it. This past week, I sat next to a gentleman on the train that looked familiar to me. He had a tight cropped hair-cut and a mustache two degrees of thickness short from being a porn-stache. It turns out this gentleman interviewed me for the METPRO program at the LA TIMES when I was in college. Let me tell you, I blew the follow up interview or else you'd be reading this on LATimes.com. He was pleasantly surprised I remembered him. And when I told him about the organization I worked for, he asked for my card and to keep in touch. Some how, I was on the same playing field with him so many years later and it felt good.
Sometimes the train makes me nauseous purely by the motion, like sea sickness. Other times, the people on the train make me want to throw up. I want to look at it positively, riding the train has perks. Like watching crazy deranged ill-mannered people loose their cool. Put enough people from all walks of life together in a moving closet and I guess you'll get some occasional flair ups. This happened yesterday when a stocky, thick-necked woman began yelling from the top of her lungs to pair of older Asian women: "No BITCH, I'll Fuck you UP... BIIIITCH!" Put a little Dominican/Puerto Rican twang to the voice and you have yourself comedy gold. It's only funny in the re-telling. At the time, it was annoying and uncomfortable. Who does that? Who yells and talks to themselves, cursing and yelling and proclaiming they don't care about anyone or anything but kicking someones ass. It's dumb.Apparently its completely normal for Subway culture. Having traveled to NYC many times, and having lived in Oakland, I've witnessed many a crazy things on the trains and BART. I guess it means the LA METRO system is growing up. Starting to join the ranks. From street performers asking for money to bums talking to themselves, we've come a long way. I almost shed a tear. What I do love about the train is I get to read. I'm reading the Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and I love this book... I'll explain later..
