It's a toss up...

So, I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint of the world by riding the 'El' to work every day (and to play), walk more, etc., etc. And while my commuting experience is one that creates the most opportunity for me to complain about (really, I could have a whole topical discussion on "Rules of the El"), I try to keep a good perspective on the whole thing. But lately....



Today, I was reminded that 'back-in-the-day' spanking was seen as a legitimate method of keeping kids in line. Now, I am never going to advocate beating children (ummm, did I say never? Kidding, I swear), but the old-school, swat on the tush when you're creating a scene or not following the rules wasn't viewed with the horror that it is today. There was a mother of two young boys riding the train during the morning commute today. I would roughly say they were 2/3 and 5/6 years old respectively(I didn't see much of them, but heard this whole exchange). Now, the mom had one of them sitting next to her in the seat (he was very well behaved) and the smaller of the boys sitting on her lap. Apparently the younger boy wouldn't keep still, squirming and such. She kept chastising the younger boy, and he kept making a fuss. The train just got more and more packed, and he kept kicking and squirming and causing a scene. She kept threatening...at one point even saying "I'm going to have to change pants if you keep this up." What is that as a threat to a kid??? What I found most interesting, is that it never occured to her to give up HER seat, let her child sit there, next to his brother, and she could stand and protect the other men and women from the kicking and squirming...now I thought parenthood was about sacrifice. Apparently not on Monday, and not on the train.

Now, this also cracked me up--over the past week I have heard 4, yes four, people call places of business inquiring about jobs, the status of an application, or available positions from the train. Not the station, but the train. I'm no Director of Human Resources, but if someone called me from a moving train to inquire about a position, I'm thinking I don't want to hire someone with such a lack of common sense. I don't call my MOTHER from the train because I can't hear her, but I'm going to call a potential employeer? Oh, and then there was the two ladies talking about looking for a job. Lady 1 mentioned what type of positions she was looking for, how she couldn't find anything with benefits or that paid more than $13.50 and hour. Lady 2 agreed about the job search process, then went on to mention a job she was applying for, how it only required a High School Diploma. Lady 1 confirmed the location of this business Lady 2 had mentioned, and then said--"Sounds, good girl, I'm going to put my application in too." Note to self: Don't mention jobs you don't want other people to apply for...

My observations of the CTA are a toss up...is it a means to get from point A to point B, or is it a day care (albeit a lax one), or is it a job bank? Check back for a conclusion...