This is NOT your living room – a rant

Over time, most of us have gotten used to a lot of noise in our environments. And reminders to be quiet. If you’re old enough, you remember when people sat in silent awe in theaters – both live performances and movies. No one had to be reminded that side conversations were not welcome. Crying babies were taken out to the lobby. Cell phones would have been turned off if they had existed.

OK. Most folks shut down their phones when the announcement is made. The rest at least switch to vibrate. At a recent performance, though, I was treated to the strobe-like bright blue flashing of a neighbor’s phone straight through the first act of Gypsy. And some folks still text their way through movies.

Lately, though, I’ve been finding some new levels of noise on public transportation. Last week, on the subway, a group held a 10-station conversation that took shouting to a whole new level. Yes, they were sitting next to each other. No, they weren’t shouting into their cell phones (another common phenomenon). 

On a recent bus ride, the entire bus was treated to a speaker phone conversation about how important our fellow passenger was. There was a round of applause after he got off.

Today, I had a whole new experience. A woman sat down on the train, opened her laptop and began to work. As she typed away, we were all treated to full-volume renditions of her favorite music.

Why? Why do people either assume that we all want to know about their lives, hear their music, listen to their conversations? I can’t decide whether it’s because this is one way to feel important or because the boundaries between public and private have been so blurred that the subway car or theater or bus are truly indistinguishable from the living room.

I may just start asking. Meanwhile, I’m grateful for ear plugs.