Passive Agressive Much?

[Sapphire Silk]

So yesterday (Labor Day) I take the train back to North Carolina from Maryland where I'd been visiting the family. I've gotten to enjoy train travel, and pretty much have found it to be a fun and comfortable way to get from point A to Point B.

Except for last night.

On the ride up to Maryland, coach had been packed. The conductors made announcements at every stop letting folks know every seat was booked, and not to expect to have an empty seat next to you, and to plan on making some new friends on this trip. I was in business class, but was riding coach to get home, so I was worried it might be the same way on the ride home (this is important later).

When I board the train in DC for the trip home, the conductors put folks in cars based on destination. Then they give you a seat number. This is partly because a lot of seats had been reserved by folks getting on at later stops who were disabled, and for their caregivers. They didn't want other passengers taking those seats. (That'll be important for another story later).

So I sit in my seat. There's another fellow sitting next to me in the window seat (good for me; I prefer the aisle seat). I say hi, plug my lap top into the power strip (one of the things I like about Amtrak even in coach, you can plug in your laptop) and get to work grading papers.

However, I can feel the tension from this other guy as soon as I sit down. He clearly did not like having a seat mate. He starts getting restless in his seat, and starts non-stop belching. Seriously; he did this non stop for an hour and a half!. It stank, too . . . like stale beer. Clearly he'd been drinking. When I continued to ignore him (I had headphones on and was listening to music), he starts to mumble and make weird noises.

Now someone must be thinking, "but Sapphire. You're a nurse. Are you sure he wasn't having a medical problem?" Well, that thought did cross my mind. Then his phone rings, and he talks to the other person in a perfectly normal tone of voice, stops the belching and the fidgeting . . . until he hangs up, when he starts it up again.

Finally, I couldn't stand it. I hated being bullied out of my seat, but the rank odor was more than I could take. I asked the conductor to find me another seat. Fortunately, he found me one at the front of the car (far from this dude), and I didn't have to have a seat mate.

I had to pass the old seat to use the restroom. Funny how the noises and movements stopped as soon as I left. Asshole.

-----

Across the aisle from me was a woman I actually felt very sorry for. She was taking the train all the way to New Orleans, and she was clearly a very unhappy camper. Her expression and the way she kept holding her head showed she had one hell of a headache. I couldn't blame her; I had a bitch of one myself.

So, she disappears after awhile, but her stuff was still where her seat was. I figured she'd gone to the cafe car to eat or something. We're approaching my station, and I grab my stuff and move aft to get off the train. I find her sleeping across two seats in the very back. A conductor wakes her up and tells her she'll have to move; she's in the seats reserved for the disability folks. She explains that there is a ceiling light in the aisle by her (our) seats that was making her headache worse. The conductor was sympathetic, and promised to move her when more people got off (we were pretty full by that point), but for now she'd have to go back to her seat. She wasn't sucky, and got up and moved. I just felt bad for her; I know how she feels.

[Catwoman2965]

Yeah, that's the only downside to traveing on Amtrak, esp on a holiday weekend. It's PACKED. I used to take the train from NJ to MD when I was in college, and I can't tell you how many times I stood until Philly. But back then, you couldn't reserve seats in coach, and they would oversell all the time. but you get used to it. I then used to take it from NYC where i worked to DC to visit my then-BF.

What I'd end up doing was scoping out who was getting off, politely ask if they were, and they'd ususaly be wiling to give up their seat to me, so I KNEW I'd have onewhen they got off.

[Sapphire Silk]

You still can't reserve seats in coach unless you are disabled, then they have to accommodate you. The conductors assign seats when you board.

I didn't think they could oversell like that. Ick

[Catwoman2965]

Yeah, don't know if they do anymore or not; this was 25+ years ago. For some reason, I seem to think they now only sell the number of tickets they have seats for, but I could be wrong.

I haven't taken the train in years, mainly beacuse I don't live close to the station anymore. I will however, be taking it next spring to Baltimore for my cruise. Its a 2 hours trip, so I plan on going coach. its way cheaper than business class or the Acela. My cousin, however, is a bit of a prima donna, and will pay extra so she doens't have to ride with, and I quote "the great unwashed" whatever.

[Teskeria]

you should have turned to the jerk and said something like 'Oh MY!! sounds like you have a strong case of Jerkitus Inconsideratus. Have you seen a phychiatrist for that? I hear it can be fatal if you happen to sit next to someone with Pissedofficus who has a weapon. Wow! Guess you are happy I don't have a weapon at the moment aren't you?"

[blas]

Minus the burping, my textbook PA ex bf used to give little *hints* when he wasn't very happy.

Never learned to use his big boy voice, got angry and ignored you if you ever dared ask him to be more open and honest.

Trust me, to this day, hearing people sigh just makes me irritated. And it shouldn't, but because that's what he used to do, it gives me the jeebies.

[mikoyan29]

The seats in coach on the Amtrak are big enough that shouldn't matter if you get a new "friend". Sheesh. Although I do have some trouble sleeping.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Back when I used to catch the bus to get to college, I'd encounter all the different type of "seat jerks". The businessmen with their giant Torygraph paper that they just had to read opened to its full extent; the "bag bitches" who'd dump their bags on the vacant seat; the sprawlers who'd cover a two seater area with their entire body (and we're not talking obese here, we're just talking someone who's being a seat hog) and of course the arseholes as described in the OP, who just hated having to share.

May have been a little nasty of me, but I always had the thought of "Well, I paid for a seat, there's seats free so I'm sitting" and dump bags on the floor, squeeze next to Torygraph businessmen and the others listed, and just switch on my Walkman so I didn't have to listen to their sighs and mutters of discontent.

[Silent-Hunter]

What is Torygraph? Is that something to do with Tories, the political party in Britain?

[Arcus]

If I remember correctly it's another name for the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

[Marmalady]

Yes it is.

(That was the newspaper that blew the lid off the MP's expenses claiming scandal)