tourism

my beloved city is being taken over.

the adversary travels in groups, either familial packs or with others of their age group.

they smell of sunscreen, their bags overflow with maps, cameras, water bottles and sacks full of windy city memorabilia.

they get on our buses, they pay in cash (which holds up the line), they stand in the middle of the bus when there are seats in the back, they fall directly upon old people and ask questions of the bus driver that all of us know the answers to (yes, this bus DOES go to state & jackson).

oddly enough, many of the loudest have southern accents.

they don't know any of the unspoken cta rules (i mean what's so difficult about that?! :)), they start conversations with everyone around them about topics the listener doesn't care for (oh, so you're their mom and they've forced you to carry all their crap?**  so sorry, please talk in quieter tones before you give away your social security number to the man sitting over there).

and what they are... are tourists.

this unexpected takeover has startled me out of my cta "zone" and caused an embarrassing amount of frustration in me as i tried to get off at the illinois stop today.  they're taking over and robbing us of what we chicagoians have held as normal and expectable.

:)

now, i realize that they are innocent tourists.  they are here to enjoy themselves and pump our city full of their hard earned cash.  even more importantly, i've been in their shoes before and have paid in cash, asked obvious questions and smacked someone in the face with my purse.

for that, i muster enough strength from deep within to attempt empathy or, at the least, to not bop them in the head with one of their own water bottles.

a word to those who are tourists anywhere: people do live where you are vacationing.  you are disturbing their lives and, as they are somewhat grateful for your business, they are mostly frustrated and think you are annoying.  tread carefully, spend generously and don't carry a big stick.

(*please know that though i was a bit frustrated today, i do welcome tourists to the city with open arms and harbor no hostile feelings that have been expressed sarcastically in this blog.  come. visit. we really are a friendly bunch ;))

(**people who help others carry all their crap are awesome)