CTA Tattler

Betty Boop lives on the Metra

This tale from outside of the CTA comes from Jennifer. You see, the cell phone epidemic is endemic. Thanks Jen!

Tuesday evening I'm riding the Metra Northwest train home. Although the car was full, it was absolutely quiet except for the sound of a mousy, 40-something woman having a very loud conversation on her cell phone.

For the next 35 minutes... yes, 35 minutes... she proceeds to call everyone she knows to describe the Betty Boop watch she just bought.

Over and over again she details each part of the watch. "It's a red-red watch. Not pink, not red... red-red. Betty is wearing a darling little dress. Her hair is so cute. It has lipstick tubes for hands. I love Betty. I'm so excited to find this!"

We all glared and laughed at her obnoxiousness, but she continued to call everyone in her address book. We are not impressed Miss Boop!

Unwanted show for Cubs fans

Thanks to Cheryl, one of our regular readers, for sharing this Tattler Tale:

Sunday morning I was waiting for a Brown Line at the Francisco stop. There was a large group of people there who looked to be suburbanites who had driven into the neighborhood, parked, and were taking the train to Wrigley Field. There was also a woman who, if you called Central Casting and asked them for a bag lady, they would have sent you this woman.

She was wearing multiple shirts, a voluminous skirt of indeterminate color, one boat shoe and one probably-used-to-be-white sneaker. She had the dozen or so suburbanites cowering near the station end of the platform. She wasn't paying any attention to them, but none of them were going to go near her, as if bag-ladyness is contagious.

After what probably seemed an eternity to the suburbanites, we could see a train make the turn out of the Kimball/Lawrence station and head our way. Right then the bag lady sat down on a bench, arranged her skirt, and peed all over the platform. I noticed one of the suburbanite moms actually put her hand over her son's eyes, though there really wasn't anything to see.

The train arrived, everyone got on, then off as the bag lady got on the same car as the suburbanites. I got on a different car and went on my way.

Show-off law student litterer

A guy in his mid-20s steps on the Red Line north at about 7:45 p.m., lugging a bag of heavy books. He's good looking, with medium complexion, wearing faux ghetto clothing.

He makes a big scene about opening his over-stuffed bag of books, and show-offishly pulls out his Business Law book, then a different law book, then his notebook.

Just as quickly he puts everything away in his twitchy, ostentatious way.

He leaves behind on the floor an orange Trojan condom that fell out of his bag.

Sparring ladies face off

The last few posts about CTA fights and near-misses have involved men. But watch out if women get pissed at each other!

It was rush hour, and train out of the Loop was already very crowded when we pulled into the Chicago Avenue station. A young woman about 25 years old started elbowing her way onto the train, using the bags she was carrying to run interference for her. But another woman already on board by the door was having none of it.

"Hey you! Don't push me! Stop pushing me!" She was quite a rugged-looking lass of about 50 years old.

The young, pushy cutie was wielding three bags slung over her shoulder.  She sarcastically replied, "Oh, I'm soooo sorry! That was my bag. Sorry guys, if my bag is hitting you."

The other woman looked ready to smack her, so it was good they were a couple of feet away from each other.

Scary Scar-Man

The last couple of days I've been blogging about fights on the train and near-miss skirmishes. But then there's the guy who looks like the obvious victim of a fight somewhere.

Have you ever seen someone on the CTA with a hideous scar and wonder about the origin of it?

Last week I saw a guy about 50 years old sporting a scar that started on his right jaw and swooshed like the Nike logo down across his neck.

I just wanna know how he survived that knife wound and what did the other guy look like?

Near-miss fight on train

As a follow-up to Friday's post about the racist-tainted fight over a radio, here's another train fight that was a near-miss:

I was heading to Sox Park on a Tuesday night. A guy was carrying a cooler, but was not heading to the ball yard. He exited the train at Jackson, and another guy was boarding at the same time. Cooler guy brushed against this guy. Cooler guy says, "Dammit! Watch it, dude! Next time I'll kick your ass!"

The guy boarding the train just stood defiantly in the doorway and said: "I wish you would try." Cooler guy kept walking away from the train.

People! Let's try to be a little more polite and let others get off the train before you try to board. It might avoid such confrontations.

Timeline for Brown Line station closings

The Sun-Times today provides the first detailed list I've seen of what stations would be closed and when during the Brown Line expansion project. (Thanks to Gapers Block for the tip.)

Copied from the Sun-Times report:

Work would start with Belmont and Fullerton, which are set to undergo the most significant overhauls.

Next on the list is construction and weekend closures at Sedgwick, Armitage and Chicago. And later this year, construction is slated to start at the Western stop, which will remain open, and at Kedzie and Rockwell, which are set to close for up to eight months.

Barring delays, station expansion work and yearlong station closures could begin at the Addison and Montrose stations in December.

In 2006, renovations and temporary closures are expected to start at the Southport and Diversey stations in February and at the Kimball and Francisco stations in August.

In 2007, stations at the Irving Park and Damen stops are set to shut down for January makeovers, with construction and closings starting at Paulina in the spring and Wellington later that year.

The story also reports that construction may be delayed because the CTA hasn't yet acquired all the property needed to complete the project.

The CTA's Web site has details without timelines on the scope of the work.

Radio + Race = Near Riot

Thanks to jmonll2 for sharing this amazing story. He/she took the accompanying pix of the incident with his/her cell phone.

I thought I'd seen everything since I moved to Chicago about 8 months ago, but yesterday topped them all off. I was riding the Red Line Train, going to Morse. It was about 9:30 pm and I was coming  from Midway Airport after picking up my in-laws and a friend.

This was the first time my in-laws had visited us since we moved here and  their first time in Chicago. Our friend is 12 years old and it was  his first time in a plane, in Chicago and out of his country, Puerto Rico. At Berwyn, the conductor announced that we would go express all the way to Loyola because of some construction that was going on in the Bryn Mawr, Granville & Thorndale stations.

We were seated at the north end of the train in the southward facing seats. The train was pretty full with almost all of the seats taken. Around Thorndale, we could slowly hear some music starting to get louder. Initially I thought "someone must have their iPod really turned to the max," but as the music started getting louder realized it must be someone with a small radio.

This was corroborated when a white, slightly overweight man, who looked like Michael Moore told someone in sitting in the seats next to the door to turn the radio off. The man ignored him so the man repeated the same message but with a slightly louder voice. After his third attempt to get the man to turn of the radio, he stood up and stood in front of the man, whom I could not see, and told him in a loud voice "if you don't turn it off, I will."

Conversations with oneself in Spanish

Another installment in my week of crazies:

As I  board the southbound Red Line to work on a Monday morning, I hear a woman jabbering away. Sounds like she's on a cell phone.

But no.

This attractive woman, who looks like she's dressed for work, is holding a running conversation with herself -- in Spanish. And darnit! I don't know how to speak Spanish.

This startles many passengers, enough so that it drove one couple off the train, and they moved up to another car!

The conversation with herself ended at Belmont. Maybe her alter ego got off the train at that stop?

Umbrella in the El door

Patrick just posted the following in "Add your crazy commuting stories here," and after this morning's rainy commute, I thought it deserved better play. Thanks Patrick.

I just saw a guy get his umbrella stuck in a El door. It was classic!

It was at the Library/State/Van Buren stop. The doors were closing and he stuck the umbrella in hoping to reopen the door. NOPE! The umbrella got stuck.

The guy walked with the El and tried to get it back but the El started picking up speed. He gave up and yelled "shiiittt!' and watched the El take off with his umbrella wedged in.

It happened at 7:15 am this morning. He could have used the umbrella because it was pitch black and started pouring.