Brieanna Fist

I read lots of blogs. I don’t write blogs. I’m one of those annoying observers, sucking the life out of this funny little subculture because I take and don’t give back.

Until my lovely boy decided differently! So here I am.

Well technically, in Epping I am.

I spend a lot of time on trains, and I spend a lot of time on trains with other people that spend a lot of time on trains (get that?!). I love people-watching and sitting in a carriage with the same human specimens for an hour and a half allows you to get to know someone pretty well. I know about separations, addictions, moving houses, holidays, work problems (take note: not yelling your entire phone call could probably hide all these!) music tastes, sleeping habits, literature choices and iPhone addictions of people whose name I don’t know.

Its an odd way of getting to know a person. There’s no communication: we just observe each other. Goodness forbid someone actually strike up a conversation (we just text MX the next day to bemoan our cowardice instead).

I think its a more authentic perception of people. It makes my day to see the random kindnesses of strangers: kids giving up their seats, men holding the doors open, everybody moving over to make room for another person to sit. Moments like that I just sit and smile benignly at the world! It makes up for the days when I angrily cry at how ugly people can be to each other. But its something that spreads. The instant one person sets the standard of behaviour, that tiny minority example is blindly replicated.

Lets all say baa together.