It was a surprisingly full train, traveling from Davis Square to Central Square. Most of the seats were occupied. A scholarly looking gentleman, with a Godfather demeanor was sitting directly to the right of the door, reading a newspaper. Nothing was happening. This was slowly turning into the most uneventful ride ever. By God, I spoke too soon. Two stops before I was due to get off, another gentleman boarded the train. Since there was nowhere for him to sit, he stood just inside the door, ending up next to the Godfather, the newspaper reader. Well, what do you know!
As soon as the doors shut, the new-comer positioned himself directly above the Godfather so that he could also read the newspaper. I have a knack for sensing when something is going to happen and this was definitely one of those times. All of a sudden, things were going to get interesting. At first, the Godfather didn't notice the man hovering above him, but it's pretty hard when you have someone a mere inches away, breathing down your neck. He noticed. Watching the registration of what was happening on his face was magical. He really was the Godfather! With the subtlest, deadliest twitch of his right eyebrow, he calmly began to turn his head in order to refocus his gaze off the paper and onto the man above him. And with that one look, his point was made - in other words, what the hell are you doing? Get off!!!
I was actually thinking the same thing. What would prompt a complete stranger into thinking it was perfectly normal to read someone else's newspaper? It's not like this is something that everyone does. It is just not ok - EVER! I can only assume that the man got the point and averted his eyes elsewhere or even moved, but it was my time to get off and I couldn't watch the ending. Maybe one of you can let me know what happened.
So there you have lesson #14. Simply put, do not, under any circumstances, read another person's newspaper unless you have their permission.
