Token Gesture

I have to get back into blogging particularly given that this month is blogger month- where did that come from? This set out being a token gesture to the blogger month but has gone on from there.

Thank you Margie for posting this photo on our Happiness blog- it is from our April Happiness meeting in Central Park.

We now need to lighten up! This is a reference to finding lighter moments and ones with humour not a reference to a weight loss program!

So in an effort to lighten up I'll post here the story of some aspects of my trip to Boston for the weekend....

The train journey began. I was waiting in line to buy my ticket via the counter as for some reason the machines wouldn’t work for me and I couldn’t be bothered hassling with them. I just got to the front of the line when a woman darted in front of me from somewhere around to the left of the queue. She kept apologizing but she hoped I’d let her go first as her train was leaving in 10 minutes and she couldn’t print off her ticket. She was in complete disarray, sweating, clutching her gold Amex card and absolutely panicked. Her little puffy dress sleeves kept slipping down and she tried to manage those as well as her bag and her laptop, which she was pulling out of its case so that she could tell the guy at the counter her ticket confirmation number. She got to the counter a little further down and was being served still trying to fire up the laptop and get to the train. I heard her say something about needing a ticket for her mother too- I have no idea if she actually made it to the train. I could relate to her panic- maybe not the little puffy sleeves but I have been there with that horrible sweaty feeling of being out of control of what is going on.

I successfully, and calmly,  got my ticket and was heading back to the waiting area having bought my lunch- a cream cheese and smoked salmon bagel- and a youngish man rushed past ticket in hand looking frantic- a guy asked if he needed help and he replied that he was looking for the New Jersey Transit. The helpful passerby pointed in what he said was the direction and I continued on my way to the waiting area only to see the panicking NJ Transit traveler arrive back where I was again asking, this time an official, for the NJ Transit. He was looking pretty sweaty by this time. I know that feeling too- where is the exit or platform I was looking for?!

My third experience of panicked commuters was actually my first experience for the day but this time on the subway- well actually it was where the 4 train is above ground level and I was reading my book as the train chugged along- we were pulling out of some stop when the young guys in  the compartment whooped and then other commuters started getting agitated and moving around- a pigeon had managed to fly into the carriage after which the train doors closed and it wanted to get out. It settled for a while and then just before we were at the next stop started trying to fly out the windows. People were ducking and weaving around the carriage. A very sensible older bloke kept telling people not to agitate and when we got to the next stop successfully shooed the bird out of the train. I should have known that that was a sign for seeing great numbers of people in a flap! I also thought "At least we didn't let the pigeon drive the train!" (Reference to that wonderful picture story book "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus") 

I am so pleased I did this piece of writing on the train to Boston for two reasons it filled the time getting m thoughts down and it helped me get my blogging happening.