It Could Be Worse

my fellow travellers,
you know how you get up and get dressed and grab your keys to leave your home? and then you step out your door onto the street? and suddenly, like a miracle, you are out in public? and then you walk however many blocks it takes to get to the subway station and hop onto your train? well, guess what? strange as it may seem, you are still in public. i think, perhaps, that is one of the reasons they call it public transport. and all those strangers standing (or lucky enough to sit) around you - well they are part of the public.

so, why all these rudimentary lessons in the lines between public and private? because it appears too many have no idea. none whatsoever. it's like walking stepping into the (hopefully) temperature-controlled car and hearing the words "stand clear of the closing doors, please" feels like walking into one's bedroom. as the doors close, the toiletry bags zip open and all manner of items come out. there is the flossing of teeth, and the cutting and painting of nails. toenails are not excluded. there is the brushing of hair, with absolutely no regard for those who have the unfortunate fate of swallowing stray hairs. and there is a the full make up session. the other day a woman pulled out a spoon from her bag, which she then used to curl her eyelashes. a spoon.

so i see people that i don't know from adam, getting themselves ready to go out in public and i want to tap them on the shoulder and say - you know you're already there, right? i understand that things are tough in the morning. odds are you haven't had enough sleep and have had to drag yourself out of a comfortable bed to face the drudgery of another workday. perchance you have decided to sleep in an extra 30 minutes and that has resulted in your not having the time to do a lot of prettying up before stepping out. but, let me in on something - if you feel that you are presentable enough for the blocks between your home and the subway, if you feel you are presentable enough to get into a subway car, you are presentable enough for the rest of the ride and presentable enough until you find the privacy of a restroom or an office marked "private".

or you may find youself being tapped on the shoulder by a stranger, and member of the public, which may scare you and smudge your mascara (or very smelly nail polish), who will say, "hello! you're not alone. we are here and we are the public!"