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Monday, 19 November 2012

Rush Hour in the MRT

The MRT as usual, is as packed as sardines in a can during the rush hour.  The crowd consists of four generations of people; toddlers on their way to their nurseries/day care centres, primary to tertiary children(those still pursuing an education) , the young/middle aged workforce(married or unmarried) and old people supposedly to be at home aging gracefully but unfortunately still out to struggle for a living to pay off personal medical expenses and basic necessities.

Or this same group of people can sometimes be categorised as locals and immigrants, depending on what your mind is harping at that moment. This kind of categorising will happen if you are opening your ears and listening to them talk.  Of late, there have never been heard more languages in the country.  Thanks to cheaper air travel or improved economy on the part of foreigners.

All seats are taken.  All feel they have an equal right to their seats, except those on seats reserved for the elderly,very young children, pregnant women or the handicapped.  If you happened to be seated in one of  the reserved places, you will not be as happy as the rest who are not on the reserved seats because you will have to give it up to those 'privileged' people.  Some people prefer to stand rather than taking these places because during the rush hour,  you will surely encounter this group of people and will have to give up your seat before it gets its chance to conduct away the heat from your buttocks.  Comfort is too short, and you think you see the others smiling to themselves, thinking how lucky they are themselves to secure a better seat.  Then, unconsciously, you find yourself giving the body language which says, 'So what? Won't die to stand....'

One thing people hate about standing in packed trains(especially young office girls) is that you get nudged for nothing.  Sometimes your new stocking gets scratched and shoes get stepped on.
Even worse, you may be breathing in somebody's bad breath or smelling  the bad odour of somebody's unbathed body! You may get your morning spoilt when you are standing near and facing a dirty, smelly  man  after a drinking session the night before and now on his way home, and yet he thinks he is the most handsome man, continously looking at you with a stupid grin, the aftermath of heavy drinking.

If you happen to have a naive  daughter who is a nurse back on a night shift, tell her that she need not give up her seat for elderly people who are still fit because her legs may be more tired than theirs.  If these old people are fit to come out during the rush hours, they are fit enough to stand in the MRT.  A nurse who is in uniform is not on duty in the MRT ; her duty is in the hospital where most of the time she is on her two feet taking care of the sick.  Sometimes some elderly people are quite unreasonable and they give you a scary stare as if to kill and as if you owe them more than a place to sit. Someone is so wicked as to snap and then post  in the internet  a picture of a nurse sitting in a reserved seat and not giving up to a grey-haired woman. There are more people out there who are not ashamed too especially young , athletic looking  men, thoroughly insensitive to their fellow passengers.