A blog for better streets and public spaces in Portland, Maine.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Transit offends snotty rich kid's sensibilities

Against my better judgment, I found myself flipping through the Portland Phoenix yesterday evening, when I found a "news" "article" about Metro's free ride Fridays.

Author Dave Brady begins fairly enough, observing that Metro's routes are meandering and inconvenient. Then he takes this nauseating dive into condescending snark:

"A ride on the Metro can be confusing, smelly, and long, but occasionally you luck out and find a clean seat next to a fragrance-free passenger... and it can be a great place to people watch.

"On a recent bus ride into the Old Port I witnessed an endearing portrait of the mother-daughter dynamic. While the young mom paid the fare her little girl burst out of a stroller two sizes too small and fell flat on her face. The wee one screeched at the top of her lungs, of course. She looked like she could use a hug, but instead she got a hanky to wipe her tear-induced snots. Then she flicked the handkerchief locker-room style at her apathetic mother’s face.

"You don't get this kind of entertainment in your beat-up Volvo."

It's so true... you really don’t get that kind of entertainment in the old yuppie-mobile your suburban parents gave you to take to the small liberal arts college where you learned how to become a pretentious twit. This Dave Brady character certainly is a keen observer of the human condition.

1 comment:

Psst! said...

This post needs to be the first thing people read when they Google "The Phoenix."