Stress in the City

Today on the train a (probably homeless) man turned and coughed vigorously on me, spraying spit all over my face, coffee, and iPhone. He made no attempt to cover his mouth. He didn't apologize and I didn't say anything. I don't know if he did it on purpose or not. (I mean of course he did it on purpose. What I don't know is whether he targeted me or simply didn't care.)

I don't know... stuff like this really wears me down. If my schedule had allowed, I would have gotten on a train going the other way, showered, and switched out my coat for a clean one. As it was, all I could do was wipe off my face and iPhone as well as I could. I switched cars at the next station to avoid a repeat occurrence.

I think random little encounters like this are underrated as a source of stress. In theory one of my favorite things about New York is its mass transit. But experientially it is an absolute shitshow. Being coughed on is one of the worst things that's happened to me, but I'm regularly harangued by proselytizers and beggars or simply jostled needlessly. (I realize that sounds like a mild complaint, but it's surprisingly stressful to spend 15 minutes getting out of people's way in a crowded car.)

And of course that's putting aside the stress that's caused by train delays, malfunctions, etc. I'm a big believer in dense urban living, but I can see why some people just can't deal with it. Some days I can't deal with it. If/when the environmental cost of cars falls far enough, I might end up being more of a suburbanite.