Crowded subway trains are the bane of any metropolitan area commuter. And especially in New York City, where it seems all of its 8+ million people cram into the same subway car every morning and evening. It’s typical you’ll find yourself elbow to elbow (or chest to shoulder, or any other number of uncomfortable combinations of body parts) in the morning. And the last thing you should be doing is shoving yourself on to a subway car, filling in the last bit of space, breathing in the last of the oxygen and then pulling your stupid book out to read.
Yeah, I’m looking at you, lady on the L train this morning. Reading Nine Faces of Christ, are we? Well Christ’s nine stupid faces are smacking into my head repeatedly with every jolt of the train. Must you really defy everyone on the train just to pull out your book? Is the irony lost on you that you are reading a spiritual novel of positive enlightenment, all the while stabbing someone in the head with it?
This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced this or seen some other poor sap become the victim to someones reading choices (this counts for E-readers too, they may be small but they are still smacking me upside the face). It’s basic social skills, people. If my headphones aren’t already on and I step on a crowded train, you know what I do? I keep them in my bag. Because I choose not to elbow everybody as I awkwardly put them on and then shove my iPod into someone’s stomach while I try to turn it on.
You can live without your stupid book for a 15 minute train ride. And if you don’t, I think it’s fair game for someone to grab said book and toss it on the train floor. Try getting to that when you have 80 bajillion people surrounding you. Your copy of Twilight probably deserves it anyway.
