New Level Seat Etiquette on Muni

Photo by Lynn Friedman

Last Saturday, as you’ll recall, it was a gorgeous day, so I thought I’d head down to the Ferry Building/Embarcadero and take a walk by the water. I had a few Muni options to get there and decided I’d take the F. I sat in a seat facing inward, back to the window.

Across from me, there were three seats together. In the middle seat, sandwiched between two empties, was a very tall and fit-looking older (late 60s? 70s?) man wearing a retired U.S. Marine Corps baseball cap festooned with pins and a Marine Corps jacket. He had headphones in, and his legs were spread out into the seat space on either side.

Enter wholesome young couple with toddler daughter in a stroller. There was some struggling to move the stroller out of the aisle and get everyone situated. Dad leaned over and asked Mr. Marine if he wouldn’t mind moving so he and his wife could sit together. Mr. Marine, who had not so much as glanced in their direction, kept his steely gaze fixed forward, didn’t turn his head or anything, simply raised his [large] hand and gave Dad the finger. It was awesome. Then Dad muttered something about, “Well, THAT wasn’t very nice.”

I won’t get into the father-daughter interaction that ensued for the rest of the ride, but it was insipid and annoying enough that I wanted to flip him the bird too.

Oh who said San Francisco is not a children-friendly city? What else happened on your Muni ride today? Our inbox is thirsty!