Oh, men

One morning last week on the train a young woman got on about half way through the line, and shortly thereafter the aisle seat next to me opened up and she sat down. She was conventionally pretty, with a good figure and wearing a v-neck blouse. And out of the corner of my eye I noticed her trying to put on her ear buds and presumably listen to an iPod or some such device.

I say trying because for the entire rest of the trip a young man standing nearby was chatting her up. From time to time I'd hear her laugh in a manner that made me question its authenticity. I wasn't paying attention, but to the extent I noticed the man did the overwhelming majority of the talking.

Then after that young men exited at a stop, the guy sitting across the aisle from her starting talking to her—again, before she could even get her little headphones in her ears. And that carried on pretty much like things did with the first guy, with him clearly trying to put on some subtle moves and her doing her best to be pleasant but not seem too interested back.

That young man got off at the next to last stop. For a second I was tempted to ask her if her laughter was as strained as I thought, out of a certain empathy for her not being able to get a moment's peace (because the train apparently was filled with dogs on the prowl) but then she finally got her ear buds in and I decided that my mild curiosity was not worth another interruption; she'd put up with more than enough from my gender already.