Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs
F*****' up the scenery, breakin' my mind.
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign.
At every public train system station in Portland, there are signs that say “no smoking.”
There are also signs that also say “no skateboarding” – but people smoke and teens seem to both skateboard and smoke.
I was once a teenager in New York City and we did stupid stuff on the trains and platforms too – so I know kids do stupid things.
And my son was a teenager in Washington, D.C.. and he and his friends were probably not exactly the politest teenagers on the transit system there. But for me, and for him, it was not about smoking.
The smoking thing is kind of annoying and it shows that what parents, or other adults, say doesn't matter.
But what about the adults? They smoke at the train station too – and when it's raining they tend to smoke under the covering – which is the only place to stay dry.
Can't have the cigarettes get wet!
And no one ever tells these people to stop smoking – including me – because you never know who you are talking to these days – or if they are carrying a weapon. And as I get older, I'm becoming a greater believer in safety first. So I just move away and stand in the rain up wind of the smoke.
One of these adults I saw recently at the train station lit the cigarette when the sign flashed “train coming in two minutes.” I thought – okay he needs his nicotine fix and I moved.
I didn't see him get on the train so I don't know whether he finished the cigarette – but I happened to notice when he got off – it was a stop about maybe 15 minutes later and he had a cigarette in his mouth and was lighting it as he exited from the train.
Clearly there are people who are so nicotine addicted they do need to smoke every few minutes regardless of signage. I feel sorry for them.
And if you look around the train tracks, they are littered with cigarettes. Sad commentary for a city that prides itself on being so "outdoorsy."
SIGH
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