Eventually a crowded Brown Line train pulled into the station. The conductor made an announcement over the loudspeaker, audible to those on the platform: "This is an eight-car train. The middle cars are full. Please move to one end of the train or the other." I did so and got one of the few remaining seats in an end car. It took a while but the large crowd eventually got onto the train.
With every passing stop, the frustrated conductor made increasingly impatient variants of the above announcement.
- At Merchandise Mart: "Please move to either end of the train. (pause) Or not."
- At Chicago Avenue: "This train has sixteen doors. They all lead onto the same train. Please find an available door and use it."
- At Sedgwick: "Every car has two doors. They both lead to the platform. There is no need to form a single-file line."
- And one time: "Ma'am, you can't walk through him, so find a way to walk around him."
Fired? He's a Chicago Transit Authority employee with experience, problem-solving skills, intelligence and personality. Given the CTA's ongoing woes, he strikes me as an excellent candidate for CEO.
1 comment:
That's hilarious, Ben. I love CTA workers with personality. Thanks for sharing!
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