Podding on the Train

No matter how old I get (5 more days to B-Day), I confess to you, I always get a little nervous when the rowdy teenagers step into the train car where I’ve been peacefully sleeping, reading, music-listening or staring out the window. You know the types – 14 to 16 years old, traveling in packs of 4, unable to speak quietly, baseball caps, big winter jackets, constantly throwing shit or about to throw shit, banging on things, and – I swear – they even smell funny. They smell like teenagers who don’t give a shit about the rules, and are just out for a laugh. And no matter what train you’re on, at what time, they show up when things are most peaceful.

I’m sure it’s very old man-ish of me, but I’ve been this way most of my life. I can remember, even as teenager myself, walking around small towns in Portugal and turning down dark alleys the moment I saw groups of teenagers walking my way. Come to think of it, maybe I’m what the french call “a wuss”.

Whatever the reason, there I was on the train tonight, hoping I was invisible and not a potential make-fun-of-him target. What with my word-filled papers, notebook, collared shirt, and pen. I tried to slouch a bit and be deep in thought, so as not to be noticed. I was also careful to not ignore them, in case the mere act of being oblivious would be an attention getter.

Fortunately for me and my neurosis, as BitchPHD has always told me – it’s not always about me. They chose instead to annoy the man seated behind them by excessively banging on their table while rolling up and down their window (yes.. its one of the old cars). Thankfully for him they got out at Antwerp, and I’ve never been so happy to see boring senior-citizen dutch couples, with their copies of the Davinci code, and bags of shopping, taking the seats around me. Oh hooray for the sound of snoring old passengers. Minutes later, I even joined in. So much for overcoming my irrational fear of groups of teenagers.

My only podcast recommendation for this week: Whole Wheat Radio; broadcasting from Talkeetna, Alaska. WW is super cool if you dig guitars and folk. Oddly enough, computer generated voices announce the songs and their online chat-community thing blows my mind. A robotic voice also announces on the air when their listeners’ blogs are updated. I’m not on their list…. yet.

Today’s Sounds: Ricky Lee Jones – Evening of my day