(hallowe'en) mask

for all the glowing reports that japanese trains get, there is one element that lets it all down: the human one. for starters there's the well documented groping on the sardine like rush hour trains that led to female only carriages (like there isn't enough segregation in the country as it is). there's also the fairly frequent and extremely selfish exploitaion for suicide (it's often said that JR lines have cheaper 'clean up' costs for the bereaved and so it's therefor a more popular choice). but more sinister and anonymous, are the ill that use public transport as a very effective petri dish to spread germs. I'm no hypochondriac but the full, bronchial hack of a cough I heard on saturday evening on the train I was sure would come back and haunt me. on monday morning I crawled out of bed thinner and a lot weaker than when I had entered it on saturday night.

all of which brings me to masks. here these are worn by those with a cough or something catchy so that they don't spread it. granted when you first see people wearing them you think it must be because of something far more deadly but in fact it's often just mildly sick people being thoughtful. like a bicycle helmet though - there's often a feeling that they are a bit unnecessary or unfashionable but it's just another necessity in the world of compact living.

if only the bloke on the train had been wearing one I might have had a weekend and got to wear my other mask to the hallowe'en party. boo.

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