The other day, as I was coming home from London on the train, I overheard a conversation that started off between two people and ended up being a conversation with half the carriage. There was an elderly man, who was perhaps a little drunk, sitting on his phone in the carriage when I got on. Along came a group of women who had just done the 5km colour run, still covered in paint, who came and sat down at the set of 6 seats he was sitting at. In the next 5 minutes (in which I was distracted), somehow the group of women began chatting with this man and ended up talking to the person whom the man was on the phone to. Together, they chatted and laughed and asked questions about how this man knew the woman who was on the phone. By this point, some others had joined in laughing and most people were smiling. I listened to the story and although I do not feel it's appropriate to go spreading stranger's stories on the internet, I can say that at least half of the carriage were laughing along by the end of it. It was not the funniest story, nor was it that heartfelt, (in fact, it was a fairly normal, day-to-day story despite its odd parts), but somehow it connected those of us in that carriage who were listening. People who were coming home from a busy day, people who'd just been out to dinner, people who were coming from all sorts of things had come together to laugh at this lovely old man and his story.
Most days, if you look around, the train is filled with people staring down at their phones or out of the window looking glum. Occasionally, there is the odd family who are chatting about the new iPhone which just came out (yes, I heard one of those stories too). But very rarely do you get an occasion where complete strangers are brought together in laughter by an old man and his story. The whole situation cheered me up greatly and will certainly stay in my memory.
Sorry if this post has been a little bit random and chatty. I don't know quite what it is about train stories that fascinates me so much, but listening into even just 5 minutes of someone's life who you'll probably never cross paths with again seems wonderful. Perhaps I'm just nosy or listening in when I shouldn't be, but surely I'm not the only one? I love the little stories I hear and getting a glimpse into people's lives. I love the fact that sometimes I forget them and nobody else will ever know. I love the fact that other people, even complete strangers, can take my mind off my own problems and give me something to concentrate on and laugh about in the most odd places like trains.
-Have you ever heard a train story that you've remembered for a particular reason? Do you like hearing the stories or do you think I'm just a bit weird?-
Miss Muggs xx
