The killjoy beggar
A guy sits backwards in his seat, eyeing a woman across the aisle who is reading a book.
He finally walks up to her and asks her for $2. She politely declines. (Don't you love it when the beggars have specific cash requests in mind?)
Next, he starts talking to her about the book she's reading, saying that he too had read it. "But don't worry, I won't tell you the ending." But he does inquire: "Is she pregnant yet in the first chapter?"
He gets up to leave at Loyola. As he heads out the door of the car, he yells back:
"She ends up in jail!"
as soon as i can get around to it (for some reason, i hate messing with my template), i am adding you to my list of links. this is GREAT, and i'm sad i haven't thought of it sooner.
i'm obsessed with the cta. i've ridden it since i moved to the city in 1997, and exclusively since the city took my car in 2002 (see articles in the sun-times all last week).
i found your blog via an article in the chicago tribune (jon hilkevitch's 'getting around,' natch).
i love to talk public transit with people. i attended a public hearing recently and gave a small speech re: service cuts. i've had some interesting experiences (mostly red line) and while others would name them as reasons to fear the city/train, so far they have all been fodder for the wonderful life that is the city to me (i've sustained no damage).
i can't wait to read your blog faithfully.
in transit,
jocelyn
Posted by: jocelyn | November 15, 2004 at 09:34 AM
I came upon your blog after reading jon hilkevitch's column today. And I just wanted to tell you that this blog is a wonderful idea! I recently moved to New York City after growing up near Chicago and attending my undergraduate at Northwestern...though the NY subway is certainly great, the Red Line is home to many fond memories of my hometown. I look forward to reading your blog regularly for a dose of Chicago.
Cheers,
Stephanie
p.s. I was always a fan of reading the "Missed Connections" personals in the Reader, particularly those that centered on two people who apparently "shared a moment" on the El. I wonder if you've witnessed this kind of thing?
Posted by: Stephanie | November 15, 2004 at 12:18 PM
Great to see you featured in today's Trib, Kevin! Very cool, and certainly great publicity for you, as evidenced above! You rock!!!!
Posted by: Margaret | November 15, 2004 at 01:39 PM
Congratulations on your mention in the "Chicago Tribune"! You beat me to the punch; I was going to start a blog about my own CTA experiences. This is great and I plan on linking to you on my own site.
Posted by: Vendela | November 15, 2004 at 09:43 PM
It was like reading about a friend in the paper when I saw it yesterday. Congrats on the mention! :)
Posted by: Rox | November 16, 2004 at 09:38 AM
I also saw the column in the newspaper. Good luck with the site! It's definitely bookmarked. Look forward to reading future entries.
Posted by: jacob | November 17, 2004 at 04:11 AM