Vondarrien

She was staring right at me.

The same attractive young lady—rockin’ the bright yellow sundress—who caught my eye when she boarded the train a few stops earlier. She sat a few feet away in the adjacent aisle.

Yet, ol’ girl wasn’t giving me a “Hey there, big boy. Yeah, I’m checking you out” look.
Instead, once she caught my attention—she seemed to be trying to get me to notice the dude standing next to me.

I glanced up and there was indeed someone hovering over me.
It was a young, skinny brotha. He wore a flannel shirt, sagging jeans, and tilted baseball cap. Kinda thuggish looking. 

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve paid dude no mind and continued reading on my iPad. 
However, this wasn’t no ordinary situation, homie.

I was riding the Green Line train from downtown Chicago (where I work) back to lovely Forest Park (where I live). I’ve had the same routine for years.

My daily commute is interesting because there’s a wide spectrum of folks who utilize the train.
On one hand, there are the professionals who commute downtown for work. Conversely, the train passes some of the shadiest ‘hoods in Chicago’s crime-ridden west side. Consequently, there’s often a criminal element intersecting with the professional one.

Oftentimes, chaos ensues.

Being a Green Line vet, I’ve witnessed some rather unfortunate happenings in my day.
Like the time a youngster blasted obscene, expletive-laced krunk music in front of horrified passengers. Or the night a crackhead called me a bitch.

The latest disturbing trend involves hooligans jacking unsuspecting folks for their coveted Apple products (the media call it “Apple picking”).

I’ve witnessed people get iPhones snatched by young delinquents who then sprint off the train and into the Chicago night. Not that these crimes transpire exclusively in the evening. One morning, a young lady got her iPhone snatched in broad daylight. She actually made a valiant effort to pursue him, screaming, “Give me back my phone, you son of a bitch!” Unfortunately, since her chase went through a downtrodden west side neighborhood—I’m guessing she failed to retrieve her phone.

This local epidemic even made national news when the brother of rocker Billy Corgan got his iPod jacked by one of FIVE punks. Also, an elderly lady was killed earlier this year after being pushed down a flight of stairs by a teen trying to escape after snatching a phone.

Damn shame.

The key takeaway: if you’re using a smartphone, mp3 player, or tablet on the train—be the hell aware of your surroundings!

I know this, yet I was still caught off guard by the teen standing over me looking suspicious. Also, sitting next to the doors made me even more of a likely candidate to get got. All the pieces were in place for me to be the next Apple-picking victim.

Seems ol’ girl in the sundress knew what was about to go down and was trying to warn me.

Any remaining doubt that dude was up to no good was quelled when he asked about the Batman digital comic I was reading (yes, I am a spectacular, comic book–reading nerd).

At that point, it would’ve been wise to err on the side of caution and put the iPad in my bag—removing his opportunity to snatch it and flee.

Why risk it?

However, something weird happened: my pride kicked in.

Maybe I’ve been reading too much Batman.
Or watching too much UFC.
Or, I’m just quite possibly a magnificent dumbass.

But I’ll be damned if I’m gon’ let some asshole punk me for my hard-earned gadget.
If he’s got the balls to take it, then outrun me afterward—more power to him. He deserves it.
However, I’ll let that happen over my dead body.

Therefore, I continued reading The Dark Knight Returns while dude hovered. Soon, the train came to its next stop, a perfect opportunity for him to test me when the doors opened.

Now, maybe the youngster knew I was on to him. Or he wasn’t interested in the epic smackdown he’d have gotten. But ol’ boy simply decided to exit the train—without starting any trouble.

It was a monumental victory for us common folks!

Or was it?

Because afterward, the knucklehead got off and sprinted to the next car. There he seemingly met up with an accomplice, another thuggish-looking punk. Together, they surveyed that train for potential victims. Unable to find one, they got off at the last stop before the suburbs. It appeared as if they were about to catch the next train back toward downtown—most likely to look for more folks to rob.

Unfortunately, the cycle continues.