Never was a glass of wine so keenly anticipated as this one.
An hour ago I was sitting at the station waiting for a train and having my first cigarette of the last few days. I don't usually smoke in public except in bars, but this was the end of a difficult and tiring week for me being my first week back at work and having hjad to do it all on crutches.
When all of a sudden some 60+ old nutter started yelling at me. He said you don't know what you are doing to yourself- you will die horribly of cancer. (Is there a smoker who does not know this?! I do not chose to be addicted - I just am.) Then he started saying I admire women who have wonderful menstrual cycles but you are clearly a fool. I have seen him once before yelling at a woman across the otherside of the tracks for talking too loudly on her mobile phone. She was completely oblivious and all the other waiting passengers just exchanged nervous smiles. He rants on and on and on at the tp of his voice. I began to feel very shakey as I hate confrontation, but I am really proud of the way I handled myself.
I told him firmly and snootily that I would call the station master and have him removed for harrassing me.
"I'm not harrassing you!" he bellowed in his pompous grating voice and then continued his rant. At this point a really sweet young lad - no more than 17 came to my aid and said "Just leave her alone mate".
I said calmly but firmly "You have approached me uninvited and are continuing to harrass me despite my warning." For a moment he seemed a bit put of balance as if he had expected me to sound really stupid or meekly put my cigarette out and look embarrassed.
if i had not been disadvanaged and on cructhes I would have drawn myself to full height and had a go back but actually this might have made things worse.
Anyway he continued on saying the most outrageous disgusting chauvinistic things about women's reproductive systems as if that is the only thing we have going for us. so I pulled out my phone.
And it was like the whole station had gone quiet.
"Right i am calling the station master and I will have you evicted and banned form using public transport for harrassing women on their own". I was actually quiet scared, but I willed my hands not to show they were shaking as my heart just pounded like mad. He eventually realised I was serious and ttrotted off muttering to himself to the farthest end of the platform. To steady my nerves I faked a pretend phone call to my boyfriend laughingly describing the nutter who has just approached me and thankfully my train arrived.
I just needed to vent that to calm myself down. The whole journey home I was just shaking like mad.
Does anyone else get that adrenalin rush when confronted and verbally attacked by someone you know or by a stranger?