I recently had a too-close encounter with a guy who stunk of liquor and sweat on the metro. The other day, this fellow was complaining about how crowded Metro Center was during rush hour.

“Is it always like this?” he asked to nobody in particular.

“Yes,” a woman answered. “But today’s not so bad. Sometimes people push trying to get up and down the escalator.”

“That ain’t no good,” the guy said. “If somebody pushes me, I’ll end up going to jail.” He tried to make eye contact with me, smiling as if I would know what he was talking about, which I did, or relate to him because of his many white supremacist and prison tattoos. Yes, I know a bit about prison tattoos, but not from first-hand experience, I assure you.

The guy said a few other things in my general direction, as if he were looking to tangle with someone. I just kept reading my book, pretending to not notice or care.

My only comfort with the situation was from tattoo guy having a tourist map he kept referencing. That means he is likely just passing through. And if it simply means that he is living here and new to the area, that’s okay too because eventually someone will push him and he will go back to jail. Either way, I am fine with it.

But dude – don’t be offended if I ignore you. I just aim to heed the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, who said that if you lie down with dogs, you are bound to get fleas. I have had enough metaphorical fleas for one lifetime!

Kind readers – who has made you uncomfortable on your commute recently?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs