Ruined Surprise

This morning on the train, there was hardly any of the normal commuters. Instead it was a bunch of Red Sox fans and marathon spectators with a few commuters sprinkled in. Today is a Massachusetts holiday. Most people have today off, unless your holidays are dictated by the stock market, then you have to work.

I sit down in my seat and a couple and their two kids get on and sit a few rows behind me. All four of them are dressed head to toe in Red Sox gear. The conductor goes by and she is always so nice. She tries to be personable with everybody.

“You guys look like you are going to the game today!” she says nicely.

The dad says in a pissed of tone “This is a surprise and you just ruined it lady!” the mom says even more irritated after the dad is done “We are just going to Boston. THAT IS IT!!!!!”

The conductor is stunned “Oh, I see! Well, I would love to see what this surprise is. Maybe I’ll catch you on your way back and I can find out.” She walks away.

The kids start chiming “What’s our surprise? What’s our surprise?” The parents continue trying to throw them off in their still pissed off tones. “We are going to Boston. That is it!”

Ok, I am not a parent but if I was a parent and had a surprise or if I had a surprise in general for anyone,  I’d tell the conductor “We are just going into the city today to enjoy our day off.” Done! End of story. The kids aren’t expecting some grand surprise and when you do surprise them, their faces will be genuine and the conductor doesn’t feel like an idiot for being friendly. What happened to people having couth? I swear, it is just gone these days!