A Geriatric Scolding

Using public transportation affords me the opportunity to experience many bloggable occurrences. The latest such occurrence all started with a young man propping his feet up on one of the vertical handrails nearest to the door of a metro rail car.

Upon entering the car, I noticed the young man wearing headphones, who appeared to be quite comfortable with blocking half of the walkway with his leg. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and went around to the other side to pass. Who knows, perhaps his ankles were swollen and he needed immediate relief. Besides, the car wasn't exactly full, there was plenty of room to walk around him.

However, at the next stop, there was an older man who wasn't nearly as understanding as I.

*enter elderly gentlemen on the right side of the car*

As the doors opened, the young man looked up to see if it would be necessary to put his foot down. After noticing that the elderly gentleman entered on the side of the car where his passage to a seat would be uninterrupted by the younger mans leg, the younger man put his head back down.

But as the elderly gentleman walked passed the young man and noticed his foot blocking half of the walkway, a scolding ensued. "You don't lounge around like this is your house!" exclaimed the elderly man in some sort of accent that I could not identify. The young man realized that the elderly man was speaking to him and calmly removed his headphones. At this point the elderly man was pointing his finger at the young man and shaking it as he yelled "Put your feet down! Show some respect!"

The young man, bewildered by what had just transpired, took his foot off of the rail, shook his head and put his headphones back on.