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Handbag madness

 
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Picture the scene: you've just stepped of a busy rush hour train and are walking towards some ticket inspectors or ticket machines, along with a hundred or so other people who have also alighted there. Everyone is hurrying along to try and get to work, and then just before the inspectors/machines, something strange happens. About a third of the women in the crowd will walk right up to the inspectors or machines, get sudden startled expression on their face, and then start rummaging around in their strangely oversized handbag for their ticket.

This hunt for the ticket takes quite a while. Its fallen down between the kitchen sink and the contents of the local pharmacy, past the large packet of extra-soft pink with blue flowers patterned tissues and behind the excessively enormous wallet. The woman, and all the others doing a similar hunt, seem to be completely oblivious to the large queue of frustrated commuters building up behind them.

Why do they do it?! The inspectors or ticket machines are in the same place every day, and surprisingly enough, every day people need to get out their tickets. Is it that hard to get out their ticket before getting to the point where they'd cause a large log jam? Perhaps on the platform, or on the train would be a good time. Maybe they could do something shockingly crazy like keep it in their pocket.

It would be more understandable if it was only a small number of people, but every day its such a large number of people that most of them must be regular commuters. I suspect that they are the same people who stand in a queue at a shop to buy a single item, and then get that same slightly startled look when asked to pay for it. "What? You mean I have to actually hand over some money?". They could have taken a note, a coin, or their card out of their bag while standing in the queue, but instead they will wait until the oddly unusual request for money comes along.

What planet are these people on? Do they not realise that they are causing a large traffic jam behind them?
[ March 30, 2006: Message edited by: Dave Lenton ]
 
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Haha, I've seen this sometimes, but it's very rare in the country I am.
I can't imagine seeing so much people looking for their tickets.
That would be such as mess, and everybody going mad.
Most of the people here get their ticket long before stepping in front of the machine.
This makes me think of another thing that I'll post in a different thread.
 
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That's one of the things I love about life here in Southern California; Nobody uses public transit, so we don't have this problem
 
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