Real Stories - May 2005

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One particularly embarrassing commuter incident stands out in my memory. Our train one evening had become delayed and was waiting at a station with its doors open. As there were no seats available, Anna and I were standing near a doorway in close proximity to many other passengers, including a very attractive woman in her mid-20s who was reading a fashion magazine and seemed oblivious to the delay. The weather was mild, and my curiosity overcame me, so I stepped briefly into the doorway to see if any visible activity outside the train justified our delay. At that moment the train doors closed on me, and I was knocked off balance into our fellow female passenger. Though she was unhurt and seemingly unruffled by this unavoidable transgression of urban life, before I could apologize on my own, Anna seized the moment.

"Look at what you just did" she quipped in a carrying voice. "Why are you so meddlesome? Don't you know the people on this train just want to get home? They don't need you standing in the doorways and delaying them further. And look at what you did to this woman. Now you apologize to her."

"Sorry" I replied, facing the woman. The growing pit in my stomach prevented me from uttering more than one word, and meekly at that. I knew that the conversation was not over, but my role in it certainly was.