Mass Transit Travel Tip

This is my one hundredth post! My comics background makes me wish it was a Double-Sized Spectacular, but such was not meant to be.


Quick tip for travelling on public transit: if you're like me (and in most ways I certainly hope you aren't, but I'm probably a bit closer to the mean on this), you don't really want a stranger sitting next to you on a bus or train if you can avoid it.

I've found a surefire way to dissuade potential seat-buddies: take a Bible out and hold it visibly on your lap. Don't open it just yet - you want people to be able to see the cover, so they're sure what it is.

In my experience, if you do this, anyone who willingly sits next to you and wants to chat will probably be someone you don't mind chatting with. Most people will dodge you like you're covered in live bees, and the hardy few who decide to sit next to you despite their misgivings will avoid conversation at all costs. That leaves a tiny fraction who will want to talk about your reading material because they're genuinely interested in it themselves. I've had some great conversations about all sorts of spiritual matters, with people from a variety of backgrounds, by doing this.

It doesn't work on airplanes, due to assigned seating, or if the vehicle is so full that someone has no choice but to sit next to you. In those cases, I usually make sure not to have my Bible on blatant display. There's no point in creeping out the neighbours if they have no other seat options.

I expect that the "holy books" of any religion would work just as well. I'd hesitate to try it with a Koran, though, unless you like the idea of being scrutinized by whatever security personnel your carrier has at its avail.

And on that note....


Enough rambling. Here's a picture of a cartoon that some people think is worth rioting and murdering over.