CTA Tattler

Mysterious worker death on Green Line

The CTA was investigating the death on the track of one or its office workers Tuesday.

The Sun-Times reports that the 25-year CTA veteran in the Chicago Transit Authority technology department entered the tracks at the CTA's Clinton Station on the Green Line -- directly adjacent to his office building, the CTA's headquarters.

The guy had just returned from a week's sick leave when he climbed to the platform at Clinton and entered the tracks. He touched the third rail and was killed.

This is a very sad story.

Those naughty train announcers

First there was the Metra guy. He got overly excited and explicit about his disdain for Chicago's new smoking ban.

Now this from Australia. It seems some woman has been "hijacking" a train's speaker system. "The woman broke into a cabin on a peak-hour Frankston train on Tuesday night and broadcast X-rated praise of the driver to stunned commuters."

"It was very graphic about how she was going to have sex with a driver for about three minutes," said Angela, a passenger on the Frankston-bound train. "I thought she was in cahoots with the driver."

No!

Share your romantic CTA tales

Today I'm posting a request from a journalism student. Herlp her if you can:

Hi, Chicago El riders,

I am the transportation reporter with Medill News Service, the wire service run out of Northwestern University, and I need your help with a Valentine's Day feature story.

Does anyone know of a couple who met while using the CTA? On an El platform, walking to an El station, etc? Proposals on the El? If so, please let me know the details in the next couple of weeks by emailing me at k-nichols@northwestern.edu. Including your contact information would also be helpful.

I thank you in advance for your time and any tips you might have.

Regards,
Kiki Nichols

Cockroaches infest #65 Grand bus

Bridget reports that she recently email the CTA about her hair-raising bus discovery:

"Hello CTA,

I take the 65 Grand Ave. every day to and from work. So far almost all the rides and drivers have been a pleasant experience, so no real complaints there. However, on three (3) different occasions I have witness something very interesting.

Cockroaches.

Oh yes, you read correctly, cockroaches. I alerted one passenger when I saw one cockroach crawling up her leg, who then alerted other passengers with her blood-curdling screams. Unfortunately, the little booger got away into the seat.

On another occasion a cockroach was crawling down the back of another woman, which I just flicked away in hopes that it landed far far far away from me. And just yesterday I saw another cockroach crawling on the floor, which another passenger kindly stomped the heck out of for our benefit.

Now I don’t know if you have received any emails regarding this problem, but I was hoping that you can address it…soon. Thank you and have a nice day!"

Some observations about our CTA Alerts

My brother Dan, who came up with the idea for CTA Alerts, blogs today about "What I've Learned from CTA Alerts."

Two interesting observations he had:

• There are more medical emergencies on the CTA than I thought.
• When given a chance to bother 400 people by pushing a few buttons, people who sign up for the CTA Alerts rarely do so.

Read more at his Derivative Works: A weblog about content on the Internet. While you're there, read his manifesto about content on the Internet.

Interesting ideas. And I'm not just saying that because he's my brother.

Passenger gets nude in Sunday Red Line ruckus

A passenger on a Sunday morning Red Line train injured five people, including two Chicago police officers, leading to a brief Red Line shutdown, The Tribune reports. The Sun-Times reports cops chased him a few blocks before capturing him.

In the preceding mayhem, the 18-year-old passenger:

• Attacked three CTA security officers, injuring them.
• Took off his clothes when Chicago police arrived.
• Punched out a train window.
• Was hit with pepper spray, which didn't slow him down.
• Was shot with a stun gun, again with no effect.
• Ran out of the back of the train where he was finally captured by two cops.

All on a Sunday morning. I wonder if he was just agitated because he was last for church services?

A moment of understanding

My daughter reports this encounter while coming home from school last week.

A 40-ish African American man is intently reading "The Black Man's Guide to Understanding the Black Woman."

My smart-ass daughter laughs and asks: "Did it work?"

He replied: " I don't know honey. I think I just realized I need the  book 'The Black Man's Guide to Understanding the White Woman.' "

December's doozy: Cuddling couple

Today I wrap up my Best Tattler Tales of 2005 with a story about those cuddling couples on the CTA.

Too much PDA of a different type

A couple in their mid-20s boards at Argyle. They find a spot to stand.

The guy is kind of ignoring her, making no eye contact. She busies herself with removing her hat and scarf, while he still looks straight ahead -- not at her.

She nuzzles her head on his shoulder, then waves the end of her scarf in his face, as a mother would wave a rattle at her infant. No response despite this aggressive stimuli.

Then she stands behind him and extends her arm around his torso and does her little scarf-face dance again.

That gets his attention. He seems more annoyed than anything else.

Then she takes off his hat and starts grooming him, smoothing down the fly-away hairs on the crown of his head.

This whole show was a totally different form of PDA. Do you ride to work with your significant other? How do you react? Any PDA? A quick kiss good-bye?

Frankly, I'm glad I don't ride with my wife. I'm afraid I'm too busy reading the paper or taking notes for this blog to give her much attention!

Today I wrap up my Best Tattler Tales of 2005 with a story about those cuddling couples on the CTA.

Too much PDA of a different type

A couple in their mid-20s boards at Argyle. They find a spot to stand.

The guy is kind of ignoring her, making no eye contact. She busies herself with removing her hat and scarf, while he still looks straight ahead -- not at her.

She nuzzles her head on his shoulder, then waves the end of her scarf in his face, as a mother would wave a rattle at her infant. No response despite this aggressive stimuli.

Then she stands behind him and extends her arm around his torso and does her little scarf-face dance again.

That gets his attention. He seems more annoyed than anything else.

Then she takes off his hat and starts grooming him, smoothing down the fly-away hairs on the crown of his head.

This whole show was a totally different form of PDA. Do you ride to work with your significant other? How do you react? Any PDA? A quick kiss good-bye?

Frankly, I'm glad I don't ride with my wife. I'm afraid I'm too busy reading the paper or taking notes for this blog to give her much attention!

The opposite of the Princess and the Pea

The white plastic juice drink bottle sat lonely in the middle of the El seat by the aisle. Of course, no one wanted to sit there.

Finally, a young 20-something woman in her own iPod world boarded at Belmont and made a beeline for the car's only empty seat.

And just sat smack-dab on the bottle.

And stayed rooted contentedly in her seat, not noticing the bottle protruding into her right butt cheek.

Not even someone lost in an iPod world could be THAT oblivious, could they?

November nutties: Stroking the duster

Here is a favoriteTattler Tale from November:

Caressing the feather duster

A lumpish 40-year-old man busies himself on the Red Line with some things in his cloth clutch bag.

After futzing around a bit in the bag, he pulls out a long, cylindrical plastic carrier and opens it. He carefully slides a colorful feather duster.

The duster has long, green and yellow feathers sprouting out of a toucan head.

He lays it in his lap and lovingly strokes it all the way from Argyle to Howard.

A lumpish 40-year-old man busies himself on the Red Line with some things in his cloth clutch bag.

After futzing around a bit in the bag, he pulls out a long, cylindrical plastic carrier and opens it. He carefully slides a colorful feather duster.

The duster has long, green and yellow feathers sprouting out of a toucan head.

He lays it in his lap and lovingly strokes it all the way from Argyle to Howard.