Solicit me - solicit me not!

Solicitors according to bing.com/dictionary means: to try to get something by making insistent requests or pleas.

15th century. Via French < Latin sollicitare "disturb"

Public transport seems to be the perfect market place for solicitation. Have you ever wondered why?

A commuters mind is in a restful and vulnerable state while commuting, and while most choose music or other forms of distraction to pass the time, others fall prey to the fairy tails, dancing, singing, or whatever form craftiness solicitors have to offer.

Kids with candy: "excuse me ladies and gentlemen" commuters are required to help their basketball team get a new uniform. Parents usually go nuts since kids find it hard to refuse candy for $1.00 yet 1 box of Welsh’s fruit snacks available for $20 contains 80 packets. You do the math.

Veterans: back from war no help from the government, this usually gets a great reaction from the older crowd, and people that are familiar with the veteran community.

 

Music makers:  drums, steel pans, mariachi bands, jazz dazzlers, school bands."spoken word"speakers and magicians. Hip-hop beak dancers are usually a big hit with tourists! I guess nowhere else in the world / or country has transportation with live entertainment.

Well dressed: I’ve recently experienced a well dressed man begging for money on the train, unfortunately I immediately turned my music up and did not listen to his story. Not sure what that was about but I was not interested.

Funny signs: Funny signs are usually what softens a new Yorkers heart. If you can make them chuckle you might get some change.

Cartoon characters: Elmo and friends have become quite a hit, by doing nothing. Anyone can show up in a costume and charge a donation to appear in your lovely family photos; out of towners are usually the suckers for a person in full costume even though Halloween has long gone.

Be aware of Scams!

Ever so often a news report will cover subway scam artist stories, and allow commuters to express their shock and outrage (hilarious). So far I have seen, these few :

1.       Old woman ripping commuters off- she pretends to be homelss but after a hard days work of collecting change she hops in her BMW and drives away.

2.       Wheelchair dude. Every one knows this dude, he wheels in begging for change but can be seen walking home after dark.

3.       Young-dancing kid pretends to fall and or hits head. This was very popular at one point, until I saw the act 3 different times, how sad.

Who do you give your money 2 and why

I have done a little research on one of The Richest Beggars in The World, say hello to Ken Johnson, 52 is one of the richest beggar in the world. He begins his morning begging by sitting near the Myer shop at Sydney Central Business District in New South Wales, Australia. His routine is consistent, close to 16 hours everyday. After some time he began to notice that his cardboard sign makes him more money, generally he would make between $60 and $120 everyday. On a good day he makes close to $300. His total income rose to around $40,000 every year. This is just one of the largest annual incomes recorded from begging activity.

I honestly believe everyone has a soft spot for at least one of the usual solicitation tales we come across daily however before you disburse the donations remember that these stories are usually devised to get a generous reaction from the victim (yes that’s you).

 http://thegrio.com/2011/12/06/new-york-city-man-makes-55000-a-year-selling-candy-on-train/

Commutable safety tip: If you decide to be a door hugger (like me) ensure your clothes, bag, hair scarf or coat is completely inside the train, I have seen sleeves wigs and skirts caught in train doors and it is definitely not a good look.

Wait.. What did you just say?

Commuting with someone familiar usually means one thing- on your mark/get set/ go!!!"chit chat time". Friends, family, co-workers and classmates all engage in a major talkfest from entrance to exit in busses and on trains. Conversations range from grievances at work, relationship drama, sports, all the way to the hottest new or favorite television show. But ever so often I overhear just a small piece of a discussion that makes me think to myself-"wait, what did you say?” I’ve heard various hilarious bits of conversations that have led me to assume either the beginning or conclusion of the story and yes, my imagination usually goes to the extreme. My most recent "wait what" moment came when this woman decided to wrap up her conversation with "it was a booty call gone all wrong"... Whoa what did the body of this conversation entail? I chuckled to myself. A few of my readers have already address the "wait what" phenomenon and they shared a few moments for my entertainment but unfortunately some of the contents were too much for poor commutable to handle but do not worry!  I did manage to pick a small amount of quotes from commuters to share.

-"And I told him he definitely needs to get that looked at"…. (Hmm I wonder what “that” is)

-" That’s why I let my dog do his business on their lawn"…. (What ever happened to loving thy neighbor?)

-"If plan a doesn't work, then straight to plan b because we have to show them that we mean business"...  (Plan B sound very suspicious to me)

- And most recently one rider was inquiring about a drink that Rider # 2 was carrying in his hand and he replied a power shake with ginseng, helps me focus. Rider #1 - under his breath "focus? Just do a few LINES for focus dude….

 (Whoa, my life would have been better off with out that) 

Personally I think conversations should be at least filtered/ and or edited before introducing them to the public. I’m pretty sure you have heard a few of these crazy bits that immediately makes you think- I don't think I should be hearing this. And as usual i dream of the day that I will see tickets being issued for individuals who expose our minds to these poisonous/ yet sometimes hilarious conversations, that linger in our minds, If even for a few seconds, because time lost can never be regained. 

Commutable safety tip: Be aware of these nutty dancers on the train, one man almost got kicked in the face trying to play it cool with these B Boys busting  "dope moves".

Ssp.

Is anyone else out there?

Riding the subway I usually have experiences that make me wonder - does anyone else out there share the same experiences that I do and react in a similar manner?

Well today I got that answer, enter big guy reading his newspaper. I usually stress that mannerisms and consideration is the key to a decent commute. The empty train allowed "big newspaper man" to just relax and enjoy his early morning news paper for all it was worth. Licking his fingers to help turn each page carefully, he sighed right before he flipped each page. Seeing how pleasant and calm he appeared it made even me relaxed to see someone without that usual "I am not a morning person" look stamped on their forehead.

Here comes a couple looking for a cozy seat to sit. Ignoring the mass of empty space available, they made the not so clever decision to snuggle up with big newspaperman. Now as I do my (hold on a second, that’s not ok) look, big newspaperman immediately flashed a look of his own, and to me it said "are you guys crazy?" clearly indicating that he was not down with the snuggle posse. 

As his look met with mine, I smiled inside, thinking I've just found a commutable relative that is fully aware of the regulations of the proximity rule. Without another expression big newspaperman speedily relocated to an empty seat and continued to divulge in his newspaperism. His deep annoyance towards the cuddle couple led me to observe his every move and expression.

A few minutes sooner than later a female passenger dares to sneeze twice, and not cover her face, I guess she thought she was pretty enough to pull that off! My eyes were locked unto big newspaper man as I noticed he had pulled the newspaper really close to his face and instantly gave her the death stare, I guess she was cute but not cute enough, he probably even held his breath for a second, I know that’s probably what I would do. All this man wanted was to read his paper and get to his destination in peace and what did he get couple that tried to snuggle, and possibly cold or the flu, but I guess he will find out within the next two weeks.

I Was always described as being sensitive, however big newspaper man has taught me that I am not alone in my sensitive commute, he also find passengers standing or sitting too close to him in an empty train strange. He also does not want to share his air with an inconsiderate sneezing commuter, not that anyone else would want that, but his reactions were priceless to say the least and to that I say WELCOME big newspaper man we are one people.

Commutable safety tip:  Let closing doors close, sticking your hand or bag in the doors does not guarantee that you will get in.

SsPowell.