On the train to London, they caused a ruckus. They locked out a drunk Irish man, and, when he got in one of their faces, he was quickly stood up by one of the ticket scalpers. Truly subverted, the drunk man wobbled to a seat. Someone from behind me threw an object at him, causing him to rise up with uncontrollable yelling. Trying to diffuse the tension, the train manager insisted, "You must be tired! Wouldn't you like to go to another cart and be peaceful?" He responded proudly, "I'm not tired, I'm Shamus!" When asked where he was from, Shamus responded, "I'm from me Mother! And I am not from God! I am alone!" As Shamus walked out of the cart, the ticket scalpers called out in a discrete voices, "Shamus!" They mocked him a few more times and Shamus turned around and said, "You know, It's nice to be nice." They kept on giggling, and I couldn't help but giggle too. Always in good spirits, he didn't deserve the humiliation, but he was the bud of a joke -a relief to the misery from waiting in Holyhead. An unspoken understanding was formed in that cart, among everyone, to keep Shamus off.
On the train back to Holyhead, I sat behind a married Irish couple with an infant, who yelled obscenities at a French couple trying to sit in the open seats that the married couple had occupied. The married couple was sitting in some more spacious unoccupied seats and refused to give up the seats they had reserved but weren't using. The young couple eventually took the seats, but, as they were leaving on their stop, the girl yelled, "Fuck You!" The father immediately retorted, "Suck me penis," emphasizing penis in a funny way with his thick Irish accent. I caught a glance from someone and was relieved to know I was not the only one unsettled. The father kept saying, "Show me ye ticket!" and "I can speak English and ye can't," implying he was better off. When the young couple had left, the father was boastful to his wife about the way he handled it. I couldn't stop thinking, this man is raising a child?
You have a bunch of little stories about your time on public transportation, but I was wondering if they're was a way you could connect them. Maybe start with a clever, overarching statement about the obscenities and low class behavior you witnessed.
ReplyDeleteFunny piecevwith movent and action--I like that, but it does feel disconnected.
ReplyDeleteYou missed your ferry because you were late. The rest of the world isn't going to wait for late people, so get used to it. Say, "on the train to London, the Scalpers caused a ruckus, that will connect those two paragraphs." It seems as though the married couple had booked certain seats, taken others, and then refused to let another couple occupy their booked seats. Sounds dreadful. I agree, you need some transitions and connections.
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