Brush It Off

Sometimes, it's the briefest interaction of the day that has the greatest impact. 
Like yesterday. I entered the subway terminal and walked to the booth. I asked the MTA man which pass I should purchase. As he started to answer my question, a woman pushed me aside and demanded a pass. Of course, I just let her push me.

Well, the MTA man wasn't going to let her treat me with disregard. He bluntly told her, “Ma’am, you just pushed that woman aside, and I won’t tolerate that, no ma’am, not at my booth. Now you wait your turn.”

The woman proceeded to hurl insults at the MTA man, and he hurled insults back. For a good solid minute, it was that stereotypical New York experience, the sort of dialog you see in the movies – but that I'd never seen in real life.

After she stormed off, he looked at me and said, “You don’t ever take abuse from no one. Else folks will beat you down.” And then he brushed her off his shoulder. I laughed, and he did it again, he brushed his shoulder and said, “You brush her off, don’t let her stick.” He laughed a hearty laugh, and then he answered my original question.

I walked toward the platform and looked back with a smile. I had just learned an important lesson. As I boarded the subway, I brushed quite a bit off my shoulder. Thank you, Mr. MTA Man.