Get out of my way!

So today on the way to work, while on the escalator down to the subway train, the one train that runs on one rail I had a bit of a mishap.
A young man was in a hurry and chose to try and run down the escalator to catch the next train. He tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could get by, he wanted me to move my dog so that he could run down the escalator and not the stairs right next to us.
I turned around to him and told him that it was not safe for me to move her or myself as she will follow me, so sorry but no I cannot move.
He was not happy at all, but as I have tired to not engage with the stupid people who live in Buffalo, I had my head phones in and was not listening to him, there was no reason to listen him.
When we were about two steps from the bottom he pushed me out of his way, which meant I fell on my face. Thank goodness the pup was not hurt. Jerk.
The best part is he missed the train despite his ignorance.
When I got to work my boss suggested contacting the NFTA to see if they got the whole thing on security tape, they in fact did, but they cannot see his face.
Scary!
The worst part is that this young man is more likely then not, a frequent rider and I could never pick him out of the crowd.

My brother, after a frustrated phone call told me that I should have called the police to file a report, however I was afraid who would show up and what they would say, based on the Sisters Hospital issue. I have not written about this yet, but I will soon!

DC... Mall...

So last summer on my way home from a conference in Las Vegas I stopped in DC to visit a friend. While there she and I went to a mall, just to explore the city a bit more. While in the mall a security officer stopped us and told us that...
"Dog are not allowed in here"
To which I said...
"She is my seeing eye dog, she has to be allowed here"
Then I walked away, because I thought that it was the end of the situation as the ADA is clear about access laws, and I was in DC... where I was surprised to have an issue.
Then out of the blue, I hear a walkie talkie voice that says "well what does the dog look like?"
I turn around and see that the officer who told me that I could not bring my dog into the mall was following us around the mall. My friend and I then went into a store to look around, when we came out the officer was standing there with her arms crossed...
I was not happy about this at all... I asked her "do you always follow people around the mall?"
She said nothing...
"No really... do you? Or are you just singling me out? Are you going to deny me access with my seeing eye dog, because you are ignorant of the law? (- louder now- ) Do you know what the American's with Disabilities Act is? Are you aware that you are harassing me?"
Finally the officer walked away, after the walkie, talkie voice said..."Just leave her alone, its not worth it"
After my friend and I were finished shopping we went down to the security stand to talk to the head officer...
When I approached the desk the woman did not look up, did not make eye contact. When I asked if she was aware of the situation she said... "yes I heard you"
To which I said... "And?"
"Well they just started, and they couldn't see the harness..."
I said... "What? can you... she's a white lab with a dark brown harness... how couldn't they see it?"
To which the officer said... "Well, like I said... she is new and hasn't gone through all of the training yet"
Then I just walked away...

The story behind the title of this blog

It was your typical Monday morning. I got on the Subway to go to work, at 8:30am just like I do every day. However, today was a horrible, terrible, awful, rotten, no good, very bad day. It started the rather large, sweaty man stepped on the train. He looked at my dog and then looked at me and said "your dog looks miserable."
To which I said "no, she's just upset about her gentle leader, that's all, she does not like when I am in control." I then turned around in my seat.
As I was waiting for the subway conductor to board the train, the large, loud man continued his comments.
"I cannot believe that they allow you to have dogs work for you, that's awful."
"Why can't you use one of those sticks, I have seen people use the sticks I don't understand why you don't use one"
and on and on
Finally, the conductor gets on and noticing that I was upset, he asks Conductor: "how is everything this morning?"
Me: "Well there is a bit of ignorance on the train this morning"
Conductor: "Well who ever is giving you hard a time needs to know that I will not put up with any harassment"
Then the conductor entered the driving cabin.
The large man continued...
Finally I turned around to him and said "Sir, I am blind not deaf, please stop"
Not a great move on my part, as this made things worse.
The large man's comments became louder and more aggressive.
Finally, the conductor stepped in, he actually stopped the train in between two stops and addressed the large man telling him that he would be removed from the train at the next stop.
Again, things continued to increase and become more intense.
A elderly woman, seeing that I was visibly upset approached me, but first stopped at the large man and said very frankly and without flucuation in her voice...
"Sir, mean people die early, just keep that in mind"
Then she sat next to me and handed me a tissue and said...
"Don't worry sweetie, he will die soon."

He continued with the comments about her "misirable state"