civic duty

This morning on the train into work (yeah, I'm working today, totally voluntarily) I witnessed a young woman, somewhere in her mid-20s, using tissues to apply lotion to her hands and then casually dropping them onto the floor of the train between her feet. In the four years I've lived here in Boston, I've often seen people commit similar acts of idiotic negligence, and this time I decided I wouldn't let it stand.

I walked over to her, crouched down, reached between her feet to pick up the tissues, and said, "I'll find a trash can for you," in the sweetest condescending voice I could. She looked away from me and didn't say a word. She didn't face the rest of the car the remaining two stops until we both got off at Park Street - me in front of her, exaggerating the motion of throwing the tissues in the quite conveniently located trash can in front of us.

Yeah, I'm feeling superior, but it was also for a cause that, dammit, I believe means something. I'll let myself take the high ground on this one.

civic duty

This morning on the train into work (yeah, I'm working today, totally voluntarily) I witnessed a young woman, somewhere in her mid-20s, using tissues to apply lotion to her hands and then casually dropping them onto the floor of the train between her feet. In the four years I've lived here in Boston, I've often seen people commit similar acts of idiotic negligence, and this time I decided I wouldn't let it stand.

I walked over to her, crouched down, reached between her feet to pick up the tissues, and said, "I'll find a trash can for you," in the sweetest condescending voice I could. She looked away from me and didn't say a word. She didn't face the rest of the car the remaining two stops until we both got off at Park Street - me in front of her, exaggerating the motion of throwing the tissues in the quite conveniently located trash can in front of us.

Yeah, I'm feeling superior, but it was also for a cause that, dammit, I believe means something. I'll let myself take the high ground on this one.