A bad example to keep you cool

“Stercus accidit”

David Hume

For those who didn’t have Latin as a subject (like me) or haven’t googled it yet, the quote translates to:

Shit happens.

It happened to me while commuting to work. Let me explain in two words: public transport. I’m not saying that public transport is invented to annoy people but there are these times that I wished I had a driver’s license (and a car). Last week could have been that kind of week:

Monday: 90 minutes delay due to extra transfers

Tuesday: 30 minutes delay due to overcrowding

Wednesday: 30 minutes delay due to overcrowding

Thursday: 30 minutes delay due to a broken train

Yes, that’s 3 hours of delay. Three hours of waiting to get where I wanted to go. (And yes, I only work 4 days of the week :) This can, and it did, make people tired and angry. And thanks to one single person on Monday I didn’t get aggravated or anything.

What? One person? How enlightened was that person and how can I meet her? Well, let me say it this way: she could have popped a vein while yelling at the train attendants. I immediately felt sorry for those attendants. As if these attendants had the mystical power to add an extra wagon. No, she was annoyed and needed to react. Those poor people were just an excuse for it.

She helped me realize that you have only one healthy choice when it comes to delayed trains: Stercus accidit.

Photo by Ryanrocketship (flickr)