Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Do you want me to cut and paste or link it? It's long and it's also a letter I wrote to Newsday that got published!

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Thank you for allowing me the chance to tell about rude behavior on the LIRR. I have formally complained to the LIRR public affairs in the past.

I have been a rider for about 10 years. While I generally think most people “get it”, there are inevitably some that do not. I’ve witnessed it all:

Nail polishers
Flossers
Toe nail clippers
Loud I-pod users
Loud and continuous cell phone talkers
Trash everywhere..6 pack of empties on the seat


One story comes to mind. I was on a rush hour train that was delayed. At Jamaica two young men get on the train and stand in the aisle since it was a crowded train. They were huffing and puffing since it seemed that they ran for the train. They both stood around my seat. I was in a three seater in the aisle seat. One stood behind me since there was a 2 seater in the row behind, and the other stood next to me. The young man who was standing behind me was leaning on my seat and breathing on my neck since he was still huffing and puffing. He was a mere 4 inches from my head. The one standing next to me had one had one hand on the back of my seat and one had on the seat in front of me basically trapping me in my seat. Huffing and puffing and laughing they were telling each other jokes and singing.

SINGING!

Hey buddy, this is not American Idol and I am not Paula Abdul. Save it for the Karaoke bar.

I gave then some time to compose themselves and after about 10 minutes they were still singing and laughing and telling jokes. I turned to them and asked them to keep it down. One sucked his teeth at me and they quieted down. Not more than a few minutes later, the one in back of my seat 4 inches from my head decides to start singing again. I don’t know the name of the first song, but the second song was clear. He was singing “Lady in Red”….badly..

I tolerated about 15 seconds of this and turned around. “I’ve asked you nicely once, now I’m asking you to please be quiet. You are disturbing the whole train. I can’t read my paper while you are singing at me.”

The young man then proceeded to tell me that he wasn’t doing nothing and I should shut up. I told him he was rude and this was in-appropriate behavior on the train. I also told him that the whole train would back me up on this. No one on the train even looked at me. Nice..glad I have comrades in arms here.

One of them proceeded to **** his teeth at me in disgust and said to me that I’m just a big girl trying to make a scene. Yep, that’s me, after a 12 hour day, I’m looking for a fight..I’m looking to match wits with the witless. I just wanted to read my Daily News comics without “Lady in Red” in my ear.

Then after the heated debate was over I felt a feeling of panic. Here I was coming close to my stop and I would be getting off the train..there were two of them,,there was one of me. I did not feel safe. I got off the train and walked fast to my car with keys in hand.

These two were obviously brazen and self-centered. It was a pointless discussion. I realize that a crowded train could bring out the worst and that standing on the train really stinks as I have done it more times than I care to remember, but train etiquette is train etiquette if you’re standing or sitting.

A few of my biggest pet peeves are the IPOD users and the volume. I can tell what most people are listening to although hearing it through the ear buds is painful. The bleed through from those earbuds is ridiculous. Maybe Apple needs to address this? Are people deaf that they can’t hear their music?

Cell phone talkers don’t bother me if it’s short and low but lots of people talk about business and their personal life loudly and for the whole trip! I don’t care what servers you are putting in or what your Aunt Mary wants for her birthday and where you’re going to buy it and for how much. I also don’t care that you are installing central air and feel you got ripped off and you decided that you would fight with the contractor on the train.

I use my cell phone. Only two people call me during commuting hrs. My office never calls me. I have a blackberry..I answer in text. I wouldn’t have a business conversation in public. My husband calls me..the call is short maybe no more than 2 minutes and I keep it very low. My parents may call and I keep that very short. In fact, the conversation usually starts with “Hi, I’m on the train, can I call you back?”

Sometimes I experience the happy hour mentality. It’s 7am and people are yacking like it’s 7pm at the pub. Oh how I wish they would shut up or at least keep it down to a low roar.

The train time is my time to unwind, read, take a snooze..I’m sure most would agree.

How about some solutions you ask?

The conductors have to start being the LIRR police. Maybe the conductors could make announcements through the train intermittently. I find that if you confront most people, they will adjust their behavior. If the conductors already come through the train asking for tickets..they could add, please keep it low..or turn down your IPODs or make sure you take all your garbage. If they see toe nail clippers-I vote they get thrown off the train. Fellow riders could encourage this as well. People don’t say anything to each other for fear of retribution. I shouldn’t be able to hear your IPOD from 7 rows back! This brings me back to the days of the boom boxes and how they were barred from subways years ago.

Posters could be hung with a list of courteous train behavior. I’m no ad wizard but maybe this would work:

Please make your cell phone calls brief and quiet
Please keep your music at a reasonable volume to avoid bleed through from your headphones
Take all of your garbage with you
All personal hygiene tasks should not occur on the train: It’s not hygienic to brush your hair, clip or polish nails, floss teeth..etc..
Saving seats is not permitted
If your behavior becomes a nuisance to another rider you may be asked to get off the train.
Your fellow riders would appreciate your train courteous behavior.

Hey-what about a spot on News12 from the LIRR with a 30 second video of good behavior and bad?

The new trains are just bad. LIRR goofed. Maybe that’s why more people are rebelling?

Can you tell I’ve had enough?

Thanks for reading. I’m sure you will have many more like this. Sorry it’s so long

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Thanks for posting that.I just remembered the story from before.I would have been soooo nervous too with those guys breathing down my neck and making comments!

Message edited 10/20/2006 2:42:17 PM.

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

I will never forget it. I will also never forget that nobody stood up for me.

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Posted by atracinact

Posted by Blu-ize

I will never forget it. I will also never forget that nobody stood up for me.

That fact you got no one standing up for you just blows me away

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Posted by Blu-ize

Posted by atracinact

Posted by Blu-ize

I will never forget it. I will also never forget that nobody stood up for me.

That fact you got no one standing up for you just blows me away

DH told me to chill out about it. I actualy came home and he said I was overly sensitive. When it got published in Newsday, he thought differently.

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Posted by atracinact

Posted by Blu-ize

Posted by atracinact

Posted by Blu-ize

I will never forget it. I will also never forget that nobody stood up for me.

That fact you got no one standing up for you just blows me away

DH told me to chill out about it. I actualy came home and he said I was overly sensitive. When it got published in Newsday, he thought differently.

I guess that will show him to have some compassion huh?

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Great story! So glad you were able to have this published in Newsday!

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

parts of it. The lady in red part didn't..but hey-it was 3 pages long!

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Some of these stories amaze me.

I will never forget that once a fight broke out on the train between two people. One of them called the other a "Jew" and said he would "put him in an oven". The police were called and came aboard the train to break it up. The young guy sitting next to me (who was intoxicated) proceeded to then place his stash of DRUGS underneath MY SEAT (I guess he was afraid b/c the cops came aboard?).

I promptly got up and changed cars... but I will NEVER forget that day. I have to say that I have since moved from LI and I am happy to NEVER have to take the LIRR to work again!

Re: SPINOFF to the LIRR Puker....

Not on the LIRR but when I used to take the subway (7 train) my brother & I watched this teenage girl try to comb the hickey out of her boyfriends neck.