(first published January 6, 2007)
I was on the train once when three women in their late 40’s/early 50’s got on, which normally would be no big deal, but these three kind of stood out. They were loud, crude, clearly drunk, and they all sounded almost exactly the same. I have a pretty decent ear and can distinguish between people’s voices but these three sounded like they’d been smoking and drinking since their early teens. They had that raspy, sort of nasal, not-quite-as-deep-as-a-man’s-but-really-close-to-it type of voice. Again, normally this would be no big deal, but boy were they loud. They’d be talking normally for awhile and then suddenly the volume would get turned up for no apparent reason at all like a defective speaker:
“Well we were over there for New Year’s Eve and I REALLY ENJOYED MYSELF THERE, I HAD A GREAT TIME, WE WERE THE REASON THAT PARTY WAS A LOT OF FUN but you know Shirley had to leave early, we have to get off at the next stop and take the bus, YOU CAN’T DO THAT THERE YOU HAVE TO GO to the other stop, WE HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER we can’t just leave on our own, where’s the f****ing bus supposed to be, don’t say F*** ON THE TRAIN WHERE THE F*** DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, you have to say something else there are children here, oh yeah right, I REALLY LIKED THE MUMMERS YOU KNOW I WAS A MUMMER YOU KNOW…”
Geez! :p
I sat there trying to picture what these women looked like (they were behind me) and it sounds bad when I say this but their voices truly sounded like white trash. Their use of grammar, syntax and discussion topics (including profanity) showed their lack of education, and I pictured three white women with longish straight hair, ill-fitting clothes and skin that was either plump and oily or overly tanned and leathery. When we got to the last stop I glanced back to where they were sitting…and not surprisingly, I was correct.
Now, I’m not sure if I should be proud of my cognitive abilities, or sad that it was just too easy to do this. Either way, I was annoyed and irritated the whole time – these women are products of the part of American society that is way too close to my own roots for me to be comfortable with listening to their alcohol-fueled drivel. (sigh) Oh well.
I was on the train once when three women in their late 40’s/early 50’s got on, which normally would be no big deal, but these three kind of stood out. They were loud, crude, clearly drunk, and they all sounded almost exactly the same. I have a pretty decent ear and can distinguish between people’s voices but these three sounded like they’d been smoking and drinking since their early teens. They had that raspy, sort of nasal, not-quite-as-deep-as-a-man’s-but-really-close-to-it type of voice. Again, normally this would be no big deal, but boy were they loud. They’d be talking normally for awhile and then suddenly the volume would get turned up for no apparent reason at all like a defective speaker:
“Well we were over there for New Year’s Eve and I REALLY ENJOYED MYSELF THERE, I HAD A GREAT TIME, WE WERE THE REASON THAT PARTY WAS A LOT OF FUN but you know Shirley had to leave early, we have to get off at the next stop and take the bus, YOU CAN’T DO THAT THERE YOU HAVE TO GO to the other stop, WE HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER we can’t just leave on our own, where’s the f****ing bus supposed to be, don’t say F*** ON THE TRAIN WHERE THE F*** DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, you have to say something else there are children here, oh yeah right, I REALLY LIKED THE MUMMERS YOU KNOW I WAS A MUMMER YOU KNOW…”
Geez! :p
I sat there trying to picture what these women looked like (they were behind me) and it sounds bad when I say this but their voices truly sounded like white trash. Their use of grammar, syntax and discussion topics (including profanity) showed their lack of education, and I pictured three white women with longish straight hair, ill-fitting clothes and skin that was either plump and oily or overly tanned and leathery. When we got to the last stop I glanced back to where they were sitting…and not surprisingly, I was correct.
Now, I’m not sure if I should be proud of my cognitive abilities, or sad that it was just too easy to do this. Either way, I was annoyed and irritated the whole time – these women are products of the part of American society that is way too close to my own roots for me to be comfortable with listening to their alcohol-fueled drivel. (sigh) Oh well.