Thursday, April 4, 2013

Sugar-Free

Sorry for the extensive delay in my posts, but it's time to get back to work.

I was heading back home after a delightful dinner with friends, but once I got to the 59th Street platform and waited for about 20 minutes for the A train, as several local trains chugged by, I knew I was in for an interesting trip.

The A pulled into the station and the entire platform of passengers immediately made for the doors. I squeezed my way on, not thinking that I would get a seat, and just as I got in, a man got up from his seat and ran for the door. I was about to sit down where he had left, since nobody else sat down (first clue), and immediately smelled this ungodly body odor coming from my location. I thought it had come from the man who just ran out, as he looked kind of disheveled,so instead of sitting in the seat that he had occupied, I sat in another vacant seat next to his (second clue) next to a thin, elderly woman quietly reading. As soon as I sat down, I looked around as the train took off, and the smell didn't leave with the man out the door, and everyone was looking at me as I looked around and realized that the smell was coming from this woman next to me.

She had several shopping bags on the floor next to her from a yoga studio and Whole Foods, but on closer inspection, they were filled not with food, but empty bottles and tons of plastic bags. She spent a lot of time rummaging through her purse and taking things out and putting them in the pocket of her coat. She also took out packets of not Sweet n' Lo, but whatever similar sugar substitute comes in a white and green pack. She would rip the top off, pour the contents in her mouth, and put the empty pack in her coat pocket. She also took out plastic bags from her purse, peeled off a piece of already-chewed gum from one of them, and popped that in her mouth once the fake sugar had dissolved.

At this point I couldn't stand the smell any more, but I was so curious to watch this woman. She was reading a book called something like "How Not to Get Fat" but she was only reading the table of contents on the whole ride uptown, every now and then pausing to eat another packet of sugar (Stevia? Truvia?) and replace her gum with a fresh piece of Trident, putting the already-chewed one in another bag. Maybe that was her secret to staying thin? I watched her all the way to my station, as she gathered up her things, got off at my stop, waved to the conductor as she passed by, and headed up the stairs.

No comments:

Post a Comment