The disoriented birthday girl
My daughter was on the Red Line, on the way home from high school. Sitting next to her was an 8- or 9-year-old girl, sound asleep. Her snooze was occasionally punctuated by snores.
She finally woke up around Thorndale, and innocently asked: "Did we pass Belmont yet?" My daughter told her she had missed the stop.
"Oh man! And today is my birthday too!" she sighed.
"What are you doing for your birthday?" my daughter politely inquired.
"Oh, I'm having dinner with the president and then having some cake!" she gushed.
My daughter wisely decided not to pursue any further explanation.
The girl got off at Howard and took the Purple Line back to Belmont, and her date with Dubya.
Hi. Um, I'm just wondering WHO THE HELL LETS THEIR 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TAKE THE RED LINE ALONE? Seriously. I'm a grownass woman and sometimes I still feel like my safety is still up for grabs on the Red Line Of Crazy. Much less a little kid. Man, I hate people.
Posted by: Tequila Red | May 25, 2005 at 02:42 PM
Yeah, I see really little kids riding the Red Line by themselves (at night, no less) all the time. What the deuce are parents thinking?
Posted by: Hysan | May 25, 2005 at 02:54 PM
I didn't want to say anything about these parents, but come on now...With all these abductions and molestings of little children happening around the country now, you'd think parents would be more cautious.
I was riding home on the green line when two kids no older than 12 were in the middle of the crowd cursing and saying the "n" word as loud as ever. A man stepped up to the kids and told them to quit it and have some sense. They got off the train when other adults started telling them to be respectful. When they left (and they had some choice words for everybody on the train) everybody was saying "where are those kids parents!"
Posted by: cmama | May 25, 2005 at 04:07 PM
The parents obviously do not care, or they wouldn't be riding the train at all hours. Sad to say, but it's true.
Posted by: Tim | May 26, 2005 at 12:59 AM
I grew up riding those trains by myself during the day. My parents were divorced and my mother had to work 2 jobs. I lived in Lakeview (this is waaaay before that was a yuppy neighborhood) and took the brown line to a magnet school in Old Town. On the weekends, my sister and I would take the redline to visit my father in Rogers Park. We would take the train or a bus to an arcade or some other place. We were not allowed to take the trains alone at night, but during the day we had to get around somehow.
It's really easy to be judgmental about this but I think that's a bit hasty. Sometimes people work with what they have.
Posted by: Jules | May 31, 2005 at 04:14 PM