The train is crowded, but not so full that each person doesn't have his own space. Still, as with every day, there are only four directions people face: forward, backward, and to either side. When I boarded, I took a spot immediately to the right of the doors and faced the opposite wall. The girl behind me did the same, standing next to me. At the next stop, ten more people get on. A married couple crosses to the opposite side and faces it, standing side by side. A mother and her young son stand in the center aisle facing each other, one forward and one back. Two business men stand directly in front of me and face the close wall, staring directly at me from a distance of two feet. In any other milieu, we would be uncomfortably close. Here, now, we don't even make eye contact. One by one, the passengers enter the train, pick a spot with some free space, and choose to stand facing one of the four cardinal directions. Only momentarily, to turn and talk, or to stay balanced do people ever stand oblique. Even then, it's short-lived. Soon, invariably, they turn back.
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