Captain Bringdown

Its February vacation for Connecticut schools and there are lots of families on the trains this week heading into the Big Apple for some R & R. Queuing up for the exit this morning, a mom with two young teen daughters in tow suddenly turned to me and said "Why does everyone look so somber on this train?" Geez Louise, I said to myself. Did you ever pick the wrong stranger to fire up a chat with! "Because we're Commuters," I answered. "We do this every day. Look around (at the filth). Take a deep breath (of the stench). You might be able to ignore all this stuff on your yearly fun outing into the city, but after a while I am certain you would conclude that there is nothing to be happy about here."

The daughters rolled their eyes in unison.  "There goes mom," I imagine they were thinking, "picking out another depressing loser to befriend on public transportation."

"Okay then," she replied, sensing that lizard brain Mother-Daughter connection, "Can you tell me how to get to Rockefeller Center?"

And so it went, vanishing as quickly as it appeared, my chance to be a positive and constructive ambassador for the choo-choo train.  Was it a test?  Did I pass?  I don't know.  What do you think?