February's finest: Grossness in the "Hobo Corner"

Here's February's installment for Best Tattler Tales of 2005:

I've written before about the strange doings in what my daughter has dubbed the "Hobo Corner." Leave it to my daughter to contribute another strange one.

She and her pal were sitting in the Hobo Corner, chatting on the way to school. She was kinda swinging her leg, when her foot caught something. She felt it was cylindrical, and she started rolling it underfoot.

After a little while she looked down and realized that all along she had been rolling underfoot a used tampon.

All together now: Ewwwwwwww!

Comments

[paul]

One day the CTA is going to surprise us, and then the commute home will look like this:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9151499313170293759&q=japan

[jrock]

Yeah right. I didn't watch the video (but I have lived in Tokyo), but I know the CTA will never be like Tokyo. Why? Lack of interest. Everyone drives to work in America... that's just the way it is. With nobody interested in riding the train, there will be no money to make the CTA nice. With no money to make the CTA nice, nobody will be interseted in riding the train. The cycle repeats.

I guess Metra is "profitable", but that's only because they run trains every two hours on the weekends. (And every hour during the day.)How convenient....

The longest I waited for a train in Japan was about 12 minutes. (For the subway at 11:00 at night.)

I waited for a cross-country high speed train (shinkansen) for about 10... they run 2 an hour *off peak*. (Why? Because people actually ride it.)

In the time it's taken the CTA to decide whether or not to evaluate extending the yellow line, two new rail lines have been built and are operational in Tokyo. Wake me up when America's like that.

Speaking of which, if any VCs are ever in the mood to give me money, I'd like to build a north-side->downtown subway that runs frequent express trains (and local too)... so that commuting AND getting around Chicago via train is faster than driving. I'd also make sure there's real security and that the trains are cleaned. Fares would be more than $1.75, but they'd actually be worth something. Who's with me?

[jrock]

While I'm on my rant, I'll mention that I had Chicago Card-like functionality in Tokyo about three or four years ago. Now (in Tokyo), you can have the card integrated into your cell phone, and use it to make purchases in lots of places. Also, you can add money via your cell phone, from your computer, or at the rail station.

... I think I should just move :)