Journal ObviousGuy's Journal: Train people: Mentally Handicapped 3
Normally the train is packed to the ceiling with salarymen dressed in black suits with white shirts and ill-advised ties reading X-rated comic books on their way to another day of boring, life-sucking work where the only escape from the drudgery is through daydreams about fucking the new 19 year old part-time office girl with the short Burberry skirt and long auburn pony tail in the emergency stairwell at lunchtime.
I didn't ride the train at the normal time today so I got a glimpse of what it's like when the train isn't so busy. The type of clientele is decidedly different between the 7:00-8:00am rush hour and the 9:00-10:00am late morning lull time. After the business men are off and running at their jobs, the mentally handicapped make the rounds. I've had brief encounters with a few and can't say with all honesty that I feel totally comfortable around them.
On the Sobu line there is a group of three young retarded men. I believe that at least two of them are brothers with the older one who is of a much milder temperament looking after the younger who is much more brash and rude. The third one accompanies them on occasion but does not seem to be related to the other two. They travel as a group up and down the entire length of the train looking for abandoned magazines and comic books. The older brother collects them in a bag while the younger one keeps the raunchiest of them for himself. I was approached a few months back by the group of three and immediately engaged in conversation about my nationality, language ability, and whether I liked Ichiro Suzuki more than Hideki Matsui. The conversation only lasted one stop from Asakusabashi until Akihabara, but I enjoyed it especially as the older brother really tried his hardest to speak English with me.
Other mentally handicapped people on the train are not so friendly or are harrassed by school kids. The barking man, who I guess suffers from a type of Tourette's Syndrome, is tortured by a group of junior high school students who mock him by barking at him incessantly. The preener stands near the door looking at his reflection in the glass and adjusts his pants, his jacket, his hair without pause. And today I met the sideways crowder who forces herself in front of the people standing, forcing them to make way for her as she navigates the most crowded spaces of the train.
I would still rather deal with the late riders than fight with the rush hour crowd.
Some Japanese-English :) (Score:2)
I love your train stories man.. keep it up.
Re:Some Japanese-English :) (Score:1)
Re:Some Japanese-English :) (Score:2)
I've found that most Japanese-English words are excellent usages of English (creatively, albeit) but are really hard to translate the whole meaning.
My favorite Japanese-English is "Dandy"