Midterm Blog #3: The New Haven Line

Taking the evening five o’clock train on the New Haven line is an incredibly beautiful experience. The businessmen in their Burberry trenches with leather briefcases in tow pile on in New York City, then the doctors, nurses, office workers, and painters in Stamford and South Norwalk. Everyone is so evidently different in their work attire and appearance, even race, yet everyone is at the same level- tired, and just looking for somewhere to sit.

This, however, is in stark contrast from at 6:30 a.m., when the same people load on to begin the day. This time around, Bridgeport and the “urban” cities get on first, then the wealthier parts of Fairfield County as the line goes on. Certain people congregate by either where they are going or where they get on, and once the seats begin to fill and there are single spots open here and there, that’s when it gets selective. Some will take the seats in-between strangers or sneak into the window seat, but many walk past dozens of empty seats until they find just the right one- but what makes that one special?

Well, I’ve noticed that women are more likely to ask someone to let them into an empty seat or take up the last single seat in a row, while the men usually walk half the car until they finally choose a seat, or, will just stand by the door waiting to take ours when we get off in South Norwalk. Men tend to sit with other men, and women usually don’t have a preference.

Seats are such a coveted commodity in the mornings, and I certainly consider it a triumph that I manage to snag one every single morning.  By why do certain people prefer to sit next to other people? The ipads and iphones tend to prefer one another, while the New York Times doesn’t usually have a preference. The Burberry coat who likes to make the sleeping woman get up to let him into the seat next to her usually has an elaborate performance of removing his scarf, folding it; removing his coat, folding it; taking out his reading from his briefcase; then neatly stacking it all on the overhead rack before sitting down so the woman can reclaim her makeshift bed.

So what does make the ideal seatmate for a Fairfield County citizen? For men, it seems to be, well, men, preferably of the same appearance both racially and clothing-wise. For women, it seems to be anyone nice or awake enough to let them in the row. And then narrowing it down, there seems to be a grouping of station and place of work. But to specific people, are some qualities more appealing in a seatmate people than others?