The latest edition of Westchester Magazine offers a fairly perfunctory piece on the behaviors that irk Metro-North riders, not unlike what we do here at Trainjotting every damn day.
Writer Sabina Cieszynski hits on all the obvious points: loud talkers, stankin’ foods, people who fail to have their ticket ready for the conductor.
She does raise one point that bears repeating. The tyranny of the Sad Sack.
[Those who] …treat their bags as an imaginary companion.
Yes, we all know that commuting requires that you occasionally carry a wardrobe change or a small portable office with you, but, please, keep those extra seats free, especially during rush hour. Bags do not have feelings; they’ll enjoy the ride just as much on the overhead rack.
Our dear friend, colleague and Stamford commuter ConnecticEnergy once told me about a guy on his train who always made a seat for “Mr. Briefcase”–a satchel of such elevated status that it always got its own seat, standing riders be damned.