🚀 go-pugleaf

Jack May wrote:
> 
> James Robinson wrote:
> > 
> > Sure there is.  There are two television programs that investigate the
> > socio-economic condition of people riding commuter trains, including the
> > development of friendships:
 
> Television programs are not real life.   Television must be a lot more
> exciting than real life to stay on the air.

I can see you have no sense of humor, which was the intent of my
posting.

> I rode the San Diego light rail once since it is considered the most
> successful such system in the US.   The image that sticks in my mind most is
> the full train with people going to work with no happiness in their face, no
> "light" in their eyes, and no interactions with anyone else on the train. 
> They were just blankly staring ahead.   All the life seemed to have been
> drained out of them.

And the difference between that and people commuting in their cars like
automatons is...???  Whenever I see someone smiling while driving, I
suspect they are mentally deranged.  

Often drivers are intent on making sure nobody gets in front of them,
but cutting into lines themselves at merges and offramps, tailgating,
and occasionally giving people the finger for emphasis.  I guess they
consider the challenge to be the fun part of the activity.
 
> The train was coming from the Mexican border going to downtown through what
> I think is a poor part of the city.   Poverty may explain part of the highly
> depressing mood on the train.

So you base your opinion about all train travel by that one single
experience? I have commuted by train in four different cities in North
America, plus short periods while on assignment in other countries, and
my experiences are totally different from yours.  There are often groups
of commuters who get together to play cards, discuss politics, or plain
socialize.  That is the reality, not your somber view of the world.