2 posts tagged “jerks”
A timid young woman enters the subway car. Her eyes scan the walls frantically for a map. She turns timidly to the old man sitting beside her.
“Excuse me, I’m so sorry. I want to get to the People’s Square. Is this the right train?” she squeaks.
“Of course not! Are you stupid?!” the man squawks smugly with his arms firmly crossed. “This is line 4. Line 4 goes in a circle around the city. The People’s Square is in the dead center of town.”
“Oh… I’m so sorry.”
“The People’s Square, hah. Only Line 1 and Line 2 get to the People’s Square. Are you some kind of outsider?”
The girl runs off the train as the old man watches, an amused smirk on his face. I’m headed to the People’s Square as well, but I could have sworn this was the right train. Should I jump ship too? A fat piggy in his twenties sticks his head out the door.
“Miss! Come back! This is the right train.”
It’s too late. The girl is out of earshot. The wrath of Zeus possesses him as he turns lividly towards the old man.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“She doesn’t even know that Line 4 doesn’t go to the People’s Square! It’s line 1 or 2!”
“Line 4 is the only way to transfer to lines 1 and 2 from here!”
“So? That’s not my problem.”
“Why’d you let her get off the train?!”
“I didn’t tell her to get off the train.”
“You should have stopped her, you stupid old goat.”
The young man dashes off the car. Fortunately we’re at the starting terminus of the fourth line and the train’s thrown anchor for the moment. He returns thirty seconds later with the young lady in tow. Never a nobler deed have I seen on the subway.
There is altruism in Shanghai. A girl silently picks up litter while she waits at the bus stop. A janitor overhears that I’m looking for a gym and draws me a map. Cops are incredibly civil, even when awarding traffic tickets. Of course, benevolence flows freely among acquaintances. I’ve been suctioning free rides and local advice off my friend Lei like a remora on a filet mignon.
It is much rarer to see altruism extended towards strangers. Confronting an idiot on the subway and chasing after a lost woman takes guts. When you see these acts of kindness you drink them in. If you don’t, the negative juju will crack your spirit. But that's for another post.
My employers at MoogleTech think I’m visiting relatives. The escape I have in mind is a little more permanent. Reagan International will see me off to Shanghai, the perfect antidote to three years of cushy but no-longer-growthful professional inertia. Professor Rose has written my prescription, a unique employment opportunity with a major Shanghainese retailer. This week she really is a doctor. I'll be scoping out the goods, then coming back to MoogleTech before I make a final decision.
A middle-aged Asian gentleman barges past me in the check-in queue and waves his ticket in the agent’s face.
“I am going to Shanghai!” he ejaculates like an untrained kindergartner.
“The gentleman here was first. I’ll be with you shortly.”
Lout seems really pressed for time, and I have a healthy slice of time to butter with whatever flavor of airport recreation I see fit.
“That’s OK, I don’t take off for a few hours.” I smile generously at Lout. No reaction. People with a sense of entitlement never notice charity. If they did, they might have to acknowledge it. You can pull a muscle doing that if you don’t stretch first.
The attendant shifts her attention to him a little too abruptly with a murderous smile plastered on her face. I know she’s saving some choice words in the pickle jar just for me. A black woman in her forties, she has a rosy countenance and air of open lovingness... at least when jerks aren't poking her with a pitchfork. Lout forks over a US passport and carries on with the asshat dance before a tepid audience.
“Sir, do you live in the US?” she asks.
“It’s an American passport isn’t it?!” he objects impatiently, in a heavy Hong Kong accent. “I live in Washington DC!”
A few restrained questions from her, a few more barbed objections from him, and he’s off to pollute some other corner of the world with his winning stench.
“Honey, why did you do that me?”
“He looked like he was in a hurry.”
“If he’s late for his flight, that’s his problem, not mine.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with people like that.”
She sighs deeply and shoots me a glance of resignation and faux-disappointment.
“Do YOU live in the US?”
“Yes ma’am.”
I can't help but smile at this beautiful soul. Her stony exterior thaws and she returns the gesture. It's the dance that nature intended people to dance, connecting with and reinforcing one another no matter how briefly.
If it takes a few impatient scallywags to bring us together, let them darken the stage, that the fireworks and sparkly bits might shine all the brighter.
