Non-threatening on the train (it sucks).

I don't know if this has to do with being physically teeny-tiny (I am teeny-tiny), or if this is an everyone thing, but even on nearly empty trains:

Huge dudes lean their weight on me, or actually step on me when the train shifts. They usually make eye-contact before or after (I had three toes broken this way before I started saying things like, "hey, I'm really sorry, but that hurts. I can't support your weight, I'm sorry"), and they never apologize.

I've had luggage, purses, plastic bags full of shoes, groceries, and even garbage literally leaned up against me, as though I am a tiny part of the scenery, a helpful inanimate object. When this happens, I move away, and the stuff that was carefully balanced on me sags, or falls over. This usually causes the owner to shoot me a dirty look, as if to say "that was your job, and you fucked it up."

Is there a kid on the train? Yes. How do I know? They are kneeling next to me, face pressed to the window, one sneaker in my lap. They always drag their parent(s) in my direction.

I am the FIRST one the crazy dude/lady talks to. A few years ago on "Manic Cycling Day," (the first warm day of the year, a few co-workers and I named it "manic cycling day," because random warm weather usually acts as a catalyst for manic episodes--causing our ER to be FULL of tangential, hyper, super-happy and grandiose crazy people) I had three psychotic people come up to me on the train, all word-salad. When I saw the fourth one (a lady with a huge "JESUS" sign) making a fucking bee-line over to me after entering the car, I looked up and said very plainly, "No. I don't want to know about Jesus, I don't want to know about the voices. No. Go away." She looked at me in the way that people who are actively hearing voices look at you when they feel rejected (which is: a little distracted, but hurt), and she left the car. The people around me, struck by the interaction, wanted to talk to me about it. "People talk to me on the train," I explained, "I mean, what made you get up the courage to talk just now? Mostly people ignore each other. I guess I'm non-threatening. Anyway, I'm going to go back to reading this and listening to my ipod, nice talking though."