Losing All Control

I was taking the train the other day to Newburyport so I could get a little R&R. Sitting a few seats in front of me, a man was traveling with what sounded like 4 to 8 young boys, all his, and sans wife.

There was one boy, we'll call him Trevor, who was disturbing little brat. He would run around the cars, yell at the top of his lungs, bang things off the metal sides of the train: a real asshole.

Anyway, his father's solution to his juvenile delinquent excuse for a child was to say his name everytime he did something bad. Trevor. Trevor Stop. Trevor I Mean It, Stop. Trevor I'm Serious This Time. The unfortunate reality of the situation was that Trevor, his father, and everyone else on the train knew that the man had completely lost all semblance of control over his son. It was a sad state of affairs.

I looked at the man, and could see in his eyes not shame or embarrassment at how bad it had all gone, but rather this sense that this was how things were and how things should be. Trevor ruled the roost. He was flying this plane, and his father was pleading with him to take it to the airport and not make too many gut-wrenching turns. How do you get to that point? How does one allow a 4-year old that kind of power?

Around Beverly Depot, I'd decided I'd had enough, and I called one of the attendants over.

"If someone can't get Trevor to cut the shit, I'm going to beat him with this rolled up copy of the Metro I found on my seat."

"Um... I'm sorry... who's Trevor...?"

"That little brat that just ran past us yelling at the top of his lungs."

"Oh, yes, that Trevor. I mean... what exactly can I do? I can yell at the kid, do you think that'll work?"

I slipped the man a twenty dollar bill.

"I think they need to be removed from the train. They're a nuisance to the other travelers."

He nodded. Trevor's dad was asked one last time to control his son, and when his Dad's final pleas to Trevor went on deaf ears, they were dumped in North Beverly. I gave the attendant another fifty for being so gracious. Hopefully Trevor learned his lesson.