So I take the Miami metro rail to and from school everyday as to avoid the heinous Miami traffic. The metro only has one line that runs north-south and it doesn't really go to any tourist locales or the beach but but gets me where I need to go Monday through Friday. The metro can be a little sketchy and the ridership isn't as diverse as it is in New York where everyone, no matter who you are, hops on the subway. The metro definitely gives you a slice of the Miami that you don't see on TV or in travel brochures.
That being said I had quite the interesting ride home yesterday thanks to one Mr. Ruiz. So I'm riding the train with Xiaomei, a fellow grad student, when a guy (we'll call him A) sitting in front of us proceeds to start talking to another guy (B) who is reading the newspaper. At first guy A asks if guy B has read the article about Cutler Ridge (a neighborhood near Miami) and guy B responds that he has just started reading the newspaper and hasn't gotten to it yet. There's silence for a while but then guy A starts talking again about how he grew up in Cutler Ridge and how dangerous and gang-infested it is (he also proceeded to start naming every gang in existence). Now you could tell guy B just wanted to read his newspaper in peace and didn't really give guy A the time of day but guy A wasn't the type to take a hint. It was obvious that guy A liked to talk about himself and may have also been a little mentally ill.
Guy A proceeds to then say that he used to be in a gang but has cleaned up his act since moving to Miami. Guy B, who has decided his efforts at reading were futile, starts to talk back and asks what made him turn his life around. Guy A replies nonchalantly, "Jail." Everyone within earshot looks up and stares at guy A, myself included, because I'm sure we all were wondering what type of criminal we were stuck in the train car with (Murderer? Rapist? Thief?) and whether we should be afraid. Even guy B seems a little nervous and doesn't respond right away. Guy A proceeds to explain that he has 4 misdemeanors and 1 felony on his record most involving carrying a concealed weapon and has been in jail twice for short sentences. Guy A also blamed his second stint in the slammer with being a paranoid schizophrenic who heard voices that told him to commit the crimes (Prime example is he mentioned he doesn't use a computer, cell phone, or credit cards because he doesn't want to be traced). Now he's turned his life around and is looking for a job to get back on his feet.
Guy B humors him until he gets off at the second to last stop and leaves me sitting next to guy A for the ride to the last stop. I quickly pulled out my cell phone and pretended to look busy so that I wouldn't have to talk to him because he weirded me out a little (sorry, I'm a terrible person but I get uncomfortable very easily). I hope guy A, Mr. Ruiz, really does get the help he needs and has a better life from here on out. Needless to say I'm curious to see what other experiences I have on the metro this year...just hope I stay safe.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment