A speaker-mobile in the wrong hands

As if the two flights weren't scary enough, this time I ran into an obnoxious man on the train from the airport.
While a baggage handler helped carried my carry-on onto the train, he left behind my two luggages, so I quickly carried each one onto it as well. Behind me was a mid-eastern man waiting to board. As soon as the handler placed my carry-on onto a rack, he whisked out of the train. Then I heard the man behind me yelled to him: "where are you running to? You have to help me with my bags, too!" I looked back and saw the handler returning and snapping back, "Okay!" As the handler carried his luggages, the man just stood there waiting with a mobile and briefcase in hand. Given perhaps the handler was on the lazy side, the man was still rude with his demanding gestures.

I took the seat at the back of the compartment and took out my Palm to play with. The man took the seat two rows up and across from me. Immediately after the train started, the man slouched into his seat and dialed a number on his mobile to his secretary. How did I know it was his secretary? Because he had her on speakerphone; everyone else in the compartment knew it, too.

I can understand the convenience of a speakerphone when you're in the office and your hands are tied, or when you have more than one person listening on your call. But this knucklehead was alone and had nothing on his hands but the phone. He was holding it up a foot in front of him and speaking loudly into the mic, yet, he's too darn lazy to hold it against his ear. How crooked is that?

Alas, I and the other passengers in the compartment became unwilling victims of this selfish man's ramblings--his business shrewdness, flirting to his secretary, and the new mobile his partners apparently don't know about, nor do they know of his return.

His conversation rambled on for about 15 minutes before he hung up the phone, leaving 5 precious minutes of peace and quiet for me and the others until we reached Kowloon Station. I got off there, but didn't look back to see whether he stayed on for the Hong Kong Station. If he did, I hope he spared the other passengers and didn't dial another number on his new mobile.

Filed Thu - November 27, 2003, 12:08 PM in

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