Sometimes, I get to the parking lot a bit later than I should in the mornings (about 3-4 mins before the train leaves). By the time I walk from the lot to the station platform to the train there’s maybe a minute to spare until the train leaves. I admit I cut it close.

But, there’s always someone whose watch is 2-3 minutes fast that feels compelled to run through people as if they were doing a Tiki Barber impersonation. Yeah, I know, Tiki’s a bum…but that’s for another blog 😉 And, when I mean “run through” people…I mean with arms flailing, wielding their briefcase like it’s a club. Nine times out of ten it’s a woman. I find this particularly funny as many of them can’t even walk at a normal pace with their heels and collection of two or three heavy bags (what the hell is in there anyway?). Yet, they are attempting to run full speed down a train platform to get to a train THAT HASN’T EVEN LEFT THE STATION YET.

Set your damn watches. Or, leave the house a few minutes earlier. Even if you get there a few seconds late (when the conductor is closing the doors) he won’t literally shut them in your face. He’ll wait. (If I was the conductor, I wouldn’t, but there are nice people left in the world.)

Just the other day, on Monday morning, I’m on the platform, walking up to the train and I hear the telltale “clip clop” of heels. I am nearing the door and the next thing I hear is “hold the doors!”. On instinct, I move to the left and let this woman go. I should have told her she had at least two minutes to spare. I could have but she would not have heard me. I could have yelled “FREE SHOES!” and she wouldn’t have heard. She lunges through the door and gets to her seat. There’s still about a minute until the train leaves. I get to my seat, take out my pass…the doors close and we push off.

When I got up to change at Jamaica, I passed by the woman’s seat. She was sleeping. Go figure….in such a rush, to get nowhere.