from Matt

Of the “hotspots” to go to in Chicago. The one thing I can talk about though is the train system. The train is the only means of transportation that is easy and hassle free. You don’t have to worry about anybody cutting off or running into the train. It is underground and has its very own trail.

The craziest stuff happens on the L. Of course people have seen bums asleep on some of the seats, and even late at night on Fridays and Saturdays, there is a chance you’ll be involved in an “L ride party.” People were jumping on the seats singing, “boots with the fur!” It was insane, beer and alcohol was getting passed around like water at a triathlon. You got to be careful though Fights have gone down in the L. People here in Chicago will fight because of a glance. There really is no reason for this but some people find it necessary. A man who had possibly been on the train for over an hour or so, thought he would sit in the back half of the cart and smoke a cigarette. Another man of shorter stature was sitting in the middle of the cart; he smelt the smoke then turned around and stared at the man with the cigarette. The shorter man stood up and ran towards the guy with the cigarette. All in one motion he jumped up grabbed the bars near the door and kicked the man with the cigarette in the face. The man fell and dropped his cigarette; the shorter man then stepped on the cigarette to put it out. There was no reason for him to even get up, he could have turned around and asked the man to put it out. It was a ridiculous way to put out an obviously unwanted cigarette.

Although the train seems like a crazy ride, it doesn’t always make it on time and sometimes the carts smell like a dirty gas station restroom. It is stupid to think that the people who have to use the L everyday are usually the ones that mess up the carts and they make the ride horrible and gross. There is no reason for any one to have to urinate on the train. If it is beyond the point of where you cant hold it then you need to get off at the next stop and find a restroom. We live in a society where we have places to go and dispose of our waste properly. It has to suck being the worker who has to clean up the carts early in the morning before the rush of people get on to go to work. Although the L does have its random crazy take on transportation, but for students like myself living in downtown Chicago, the L is an entertaining way to travel through out the city.