Author: Dr. Majdfar
Notes on People’s Behavioral Culture in the Metro
This morning, when I boarded the metro, I couldn’t find a seat due to the crowd and ended up standing near the entrance, holding onto the poles. At the far end of a six-seat row, there was a man engaged in a loud phone conversation. His call would disconnect whenever the train moved away from a station, and he had to wait until the train reached the next station to reconnect.
The conversation was so loud that I’m pretty sure the entire train could hear its details: a transaction in the UAE had taken place, and the phone’s owner was explaining to the person on the other end how to transfer the $300,000 involved.
I’m not here to discuss the loud conversation or the invasion of other passengers’ rights. What first caught my attention was the man’s extremely messy and greasy hair, which was hard to miss since I was standing directly above him. As I listened to the details of the $300,000 transfer, I couldn’t help but focus on the condition of his hair. Then, something unexpected happened.
I’ve been wearing glasses for a while to see better. Despite not wearing them at that moment, I noticed something alarming: the man’s hair was crawling with lice, flipping and tumbling around in plain sight.
I was horrified. Even though the metro was still crowded, I quickly moved to a different spot. Feeling nauseous and unable to endure the situation any longer, I got off the train one station early, leaving the $300,000 man and his lice behind to enjoy their ride together.
The metro is a miniature representation of society. Many cultural behaviors of a community can be observed within it.
