Evil sheep
Most weekday mornings I take the Ferry from Larkspur CA to SF CA. It's a glorious way to travel to work. I can sit down, read, crack open the laptop, whatever. The water is lovely, even rough seas are fun, and the view is routinely judged photo-worthy by the daily allotment of tourists.
The passengers, however, can suck.
Not suck, so much, as at least "behave more poorly than I'd hope".
The ferries are on a tight schedule. They pull in, ditch their passengers, pick up the herd of us who are waiting to board, shove off, and make the return trip. Not quite Indy pit crew turnaround, but quick.
So we who board, for about 1-20 minutes before the ferry arrives, depending on when we ourselves arrive, wait to board. And there's not so much a line as there is a holding pen. Just a big corral with a big gate. When they're ready for us to board, they open the gate. And bad behavior ensues.
Now different cultures have different ideas of polite queuing behavior. I hear in China it's "she who has the sharpest elbows gets to go first". Here in the US, we have a sense of "first come, first served", and we think cutting in line is very bad manners.
The problem with the ferry line is that it's not a line. It's a pack. Amorphous, unstructured. It's hard to tell who was here first. One can get a general sense, though, as the folks who arrive first stand as close to the gate as they can. Those who come later stand behind them. So the last to arrive are in the outer ring. Kind of like sedimentary rock. Folding happens, but generally, the first are on the bottom.
But I've noticed people not conforming to the "rules". Folks will step through the already assembled crowd to get close to the gate. Once the gate opens and the crowd starts moving, people will drop a shoulder and slip past you to get in front of you as you hit the gang plank, the doorway, the stairs. They'll shamelessly slip by. Men and women alike.
I, of course, can't do this. 1) It's rude. 2) I'm of broad enough shoulders that I just can't squeeze past people in a crowd with out being very conspicuous about it.
I have a few explanations. 1) People are still in "get through morning traffic mode" and forget that they are no longer in their cars. 2) People are OCD about "their" seats. They race to get "the best" seat on the boat. 3) They don't' realize we all arrive at the same time, and the boat won't leave till we're all on board. Kind of like the airplane loonies that try to board early. 4) They are caffeine addicts who get their first hit on the boat at the refreshment bar, and in their desperation for their morning fix, turn into gremlins.
How to spot me? I'm the last one to board, shaking his head at the absurd insanity of the people around him and their petty priorities.
The passengers, however, can suck.
Not suck, so much, as at least "behave more poorly than I'd hope".
The ferries are on a tight schedule. They pull in, ditch their passengers, pick up the herd of us who are waiting to board, shove off, and make the return trip. Not quite Indy pit crew turnaround, but quick.
So we who board, for about 1-20 minutes before the ferry arrives, depending on when we ourselves arrive, wait to board. And there's not so much a line as there is a holding pen. Just a big corral with a big gate. When they're ready for us to board, they open the gate. And bad behavior ensues.
Now different cultures have different ideas of polite queuing behavior. I hear in China it's "she who has the sharpest elbows gets to go first". Here in the US, we have a sense of "first come, first served", and we think cutting in line is very bad manners.
The problem with the ferry line is that it's not a line. It's a pack. Amorphous, unstructured. It's hard to tell who was here first. One can get a general sense, though, as the folks who arrive first stand as close to the gate as they can. Those who come later stand behind them. So the last to arrive are in the outer ring. Kind of like sedimentary rock. Folding happens, but generally, the first are on the bottom.
But I've noticed people not conforming to the "rules". Folks will step through the already assembled crowd to get close to the gate. Once the gate opens and the crowd starts moving, people will drop a shoulder and slip past you to get in front of you as you hit the gang plank, the doorway, the stairs. They'll shamelessly slip by. Men and women alike.
I, of course, can't do this. 1) It's rude. 2) I'm of broad enough shoulders that I just can't squeeze past people in a crowd with out being very conspicuous about it.
I have a few explanations. 1) People are still in "get through morning traffic mode" and forget that they are no longer in their cars. 2) People are OCD about "their" seats. They race to get "the best" seat on the boat. 3) They don't' realize we all arrive at the same time, and the boat won't leave till we're all on board. Kind of like the airplane loonies that try to board early. 4) They are caffeine addicts who get their first hit on the boat at the refreshment bar, and in their desperation for their morning fix, turn into gremlins.
How to spot me? I'm the last one to board, shaking his head at the absurd insanity of the people around him and their petty priorities.
posted by Kenneth at 6:19 PM
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