I have not been able to read a printed book on the train for
some years now. My hands and arms and I can’t quite manage holding a book, in
the needed position, without significant pain. Flipping through the pages of a book was my favorite thing to
do while commuting… When the pain forced me to make a change, I started
people hearing while riding.
People hearing is just like people watching, but with eavesdropping
included. I’m not talking about spying or trying to overhear other people’s
precious secrets. No, I wouldn’t enjoy that. I am referring to letting my ear
near conversations others might be having on the bus, in line to pay for
groceries, at the airport…
Yesterday, while riding the 1 (the 1 train,
that is) from Manhattan to The Bronx, my people hearing curiosity
and I were served several treats:
- a woman with two dogs, said to
one of the pups, “If you’re mommy’s very good girl, and you pee on that
asshole’s rug, mommy will give you bacon.” I never found out who the asshole
was.
- a very old man (no, he didn’t have enormous wings), told
an invisible friend, “Cut your nails when they’re looking. Hit them in the eye.
Hard in the eye. That’ll stop it.” I’m still wondering about the identity of
the ‘it’ that needs stopping.
- a girl told her
companion, “If I’d been the Gregor guy, I would’ve eaten my whole family. Some
assholes deserve to be eaten.” I’m quite glad to inform you that I wasn’t the
only people hearer who shook with laughter at the imaginative teenage girl’s
cannibalistic choice of imagery.
It’s very likely that I will never stop missing the joy of
reading a paper book while riding the bus or train. But I am grateful for the
unexpected (and rather uncanny) gift
that came out of the change. Now, if my skull and I could only get rid of the
image of a teenage roach devouring the unsightliest of familial meals.
- linked to the Interactive Moonlight Musings, over at Poets United, where my favorite person in the whole wide
world, invites everyone to write an article (in 369 words or fewer)
inspired by the Positive Side of Change.