I'm not exactly sure why, but last night we had one of those insane commuter clusterfucks at Penn Station. It's usually a pretty well orchestrated operation, save for the pushing, shoving, coughing, spitting, elbowing, farting, wrestling, and ass-grabbing. But for some reason, every commuter last night decided they were going to leave New York at exactly the same time. I hate it when this happens because everyone assumes there won't be enough room for them on the train. So they go into panic mode and get a little meshuggeneh with the pushing and shoving. It gets even worse after they hop on the train. The "good" seats are still at a premium, so everyone plays this passive-aggressive version of musical chairs to claim a good seat. It goes something like this... If I throw my coat, hat, backpack on a seat before you plant your ass in it, it's mine. It's actually quite entertaining to watch as people enter each train car from both ends, vying for the last remaining seats before they meet in the middle. If you're one of the unlucky ones to miss out, that just means you start the slow walk of shame down the aisle and into the next train car until you find your own special place. Good luck to you.
