Usually, the folks at my Jitney stop (the little bus that takes us to the train) are the loud bunch. We meet, we chat, we laugh, we get on the Jitney and laugh again at all the eye rolls and "oh, it's THAT stop" looks. (For those that know me, this should not be a surprise). We don't mind. We have fun.
This morning we were all a bit subdued: a few of us were not feeling well, the others over tired. On the whole, we felt yucky.
This general ickiness carried over to the train platform, where we stood in a daze, hoping for a painless commute. The train stopped with the door right in front of me, which I always take as a sign of an easy day (it doesn't always work that way, but I am always hopeful).
The doors slid open, and there was the guy who takes the tickets. He is a really nice guy that always has kind words in the morning, but today was different.
As the doors slid open, he announced to the people, "Only Smiling people are allowed in this car! Smiles only, in this car!"
This proclamation immediately affected everyone waiting for the train, the laughter rolling through the crowd. It was so silly, but we all felt suddenly lighter.
Once on the train and settled in, he came around for our tickets and asked everyone to show him their smile. One guy rolled his eyes and the ticket guy said "Didn't you hear my announcement? Only smiles on this car. Don't make me kick you out!" Which, of course, had us smiling... even the rolling eyes guy.
Our ticket guy is like this every morning. He smiles, he jokes, he remembers people (which is amazing considering he must handle thousands of passengers each day - and train commuters, as a group, are a pain in the ass). If you are having a bad day, or feeling under the weather, you may find a comforting hand on your shoulder after showing him your ticket. I have heard him ask after a passenger's son, who had come to work with his father a while back. Our guy only saw the kid once, but he remembered.
These little acts of kindness go such a long way toward making an uncomfortable, hectic, early commute bearable. I wish everyone could experience our guy at least once (but please, not all at the same time!).
So, to the guy on the train that takes the tickets... thank you. You rock.
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