An Amtrak first........

[JayPea]

I had the same sort of thing happen. First it was when are you getting married? I finally told a couple of people who kept asking that question I was going to hire hookers instead, it was cheaper. Those people got mad but also took the hint and shut up. Then when I finally did get married (I was 41, my wife 43) the inevitable questions about kids came up. My wife was unable to have kids which worked fine because I wanted no part of being a parent. Nor did my wife. So then we were asked why didn't we adopt? We got tired of that too so started saying it was nobody's business but ours. And, after my wife passed away 15 months after we married, I started to get the inevitable when are you getting married again questions. It's been 12 1/2 years since she died and I haven't been so much as on one date since. That fact has pretty much answered that question: I'm not!

Please accept my sympathy over the loss of your wife after such a short time. I hope it left you with good memories.

I know quite a few people who are aware that they are happier with the companionship of good friends, when they want it, than they would be with a full-time spouse in the home. If that's the case, it's good to know ones-self.

Thank you OP. I am very much left with good memories of the short time I had with her.

 

[SarahZ]

Wow, I think I'm going to start eating in my roomette. Actuality I've never had a problem in in the dinning car, in fact enjoyed the conversations though there are certain topics I'd refuse to discuss and I wouldn't have a problem being up front about it.

Nah... like anything else, you tend to hear the bad more than the good. If you enjoy eating in the dining car, you should continue to do so.

And if you DO end up with an annoying tablemate, you'll have a fun story to tell on AU!

 

[Everydaymatters]

The worst I ever shared a table with was a family of father, mother and adult son. They would not let go of their views of religion. I was preached to during the entire meal.

 

[railiner]

Which is why I resist wearing Amtrak gear when I go to the WIL station for any reason or when I ride Amtrak trains.

Pity the conductor(s). Hope she's not going all the way to Portland or Seattle.

The lady may call up or write and complain that Amtrak employees on the train were rude to her. And then they might query the train crew. Probably send her a voucher. I kid you not.
When I am traveling on Amtrak for pleasure I don't wear any Amtrak stuff. I have some nice Amtrak and Acela caps and a nice casual Amtrak jacket that I will wear but only off of the train.

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This makes me wonder...how do professional railroader's working on Amtrak feel about railfans wearing Amtrak logo apparel on board? And by that I mean anything from obvious 'foamer's' festooned in multiple railroad patches to those more subtle polo's or windbreaker's that could understandably be taken as an actual employee?

I don't think most professional railroaders mind about rail fans wearing Amtrak logo apparel on board. I don't think they worry about passengers with patches, hats or polos being taken as an actual employee. JayPea encountered a disturbed person. He now has an inkling of what Amtrak crew members sometimes have to deal with. He should continue wearing whatever he feels like wearing.

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Okay....I can accept that. That is, just so long as the railfan wearing said logo items doesn't intentionally let him or herself get mistaken as a real crewmember by other passenger's, and not correct the misinterpretation.....

 

[Pastor Dave]

What a great topic - and an enlightening thread for sure. I certainly empathize with anyone stuck with a bad table mate, but I've only had one or two experiences that would even qualify as unpleasant. JayPea,you may have just been the unlucky recipient of a poor soul who feels defeated by life. I usually respond to folks like that compassionately with a "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad my life doesn't suck like yours."

SarahZ, sounds like you are obviously perceived as an outgoing person, and people just think your personality is an invitation to pry into your life. It may just be an unfortunate side-effect of being nice.

 

[NW cannonball]

I'm lucky, I suppose. Never had an angry tablemate. Silent, including a few pairs of newlyweds. Boring, yeah, including a few foamers and a memorable pair of realtors from opposite coasts.

Awkward, often. Obsessed with this or that - twice - one was a fan of (some Nixon lover) kept saying - "you gotta shoot em in the head when they come to take you away, they got body armor" (his wife was silent, but grimaced and rolled her eyes) ; the other kept asking for financial advice about renting vs buying. Duh.

But never met an angry one.

Anger comes from fear and weakness. When I meet misdirected anger, I get real polite (like with cops) and act even weaker than I am. Seems to work.

 

[JayPea]

On reflection, there was one other time where tablemates ended up leaving our table for another. But in that situation, a relative of the ladies who had been seated with us had decided to eat in the diner after previously saying she wasn't going to. Our tablemates then went to sit with her, apologizing profusely for leaving us. It had nothing to do with us. This time. :lol: We did have one other angry person sit with us at breakfast one time. He hated Amtrak, hated the crew, and most of all the food. His biscuit at breakfast didn't suit him and he practically threw it back in the server's face demanding another one. We just let this one rant on. Fortunately he left us very shortly after he finished his meal.

 

[Steve4031]

I had a classic on the swc in August. This was at lunch on 3. I was seated with a man and woman and their grandchild. The man was giving the waitress the business for something she couldn't control. The woman ordered a salad and side salad. She was still finishing the side salad and the main course arrived for all of us. The woman was befuddled because she wanted to finish the side salad but there was no room for the big salad. So she took about 1/4 of the big salad off the top as the waiter was handing it to her. Then sent the rest back. The waiter offered it to go. The woman said no thank you. The man barked, "you'll take it to go." The waiter had already disappeared with the salad. The woman told him off. Then said "if you think you can do the crews job better, get up and go do it and leave us alone." After 5 minutes of silence as we climbed raton pass, the kid and woman started marveling at how blue the sky was.

 

[FormerOBS]

In my experience, most of this kind of behavior comes from people who are unfamiliar with train travel, and therefore uncomfortable in the environment. I suspect most AUers are of a personality type that welcomes change, novelty, diversity, and new experiences. Those who view new experiences with suspicion and fear are the ones who have this kind of problem. Sometimes they've heard horror stories about Amtrak service or Amtrak food, from others. They come into the situation expecting trouble, and aren't able to turn off their "trouble sensors" when trouble doesn't actually show up. So their mind manufactures trouble to fill the gap.

I generally tried to be sure they felt welcome and comfortable, and tried to bend over backwards to satisfy their needs. Sometimes that wasn't enough. I tried, but I never claimed to be a miracle worker.

Tom

 

[StanJazz]

I only once had a meal in the dining car that my tablemates were trouble. Not on Amtrak but on The Canadian. I sat with 3 people who spent the entire meal speaking French. I finished eating as quickly as possible and went back to the Park Car dome.

 

[SubwayNut]

I only once had a meal in the dining car that my tablemates were trouble. Not on Amtrak but on The Canadian. I sat with 3 people who spent the entire meal speaking French. I finished eating as quickly as possible and went back to the Park Car dome.

On my Canadian trip a Fench only speaking gentleman got on in Northern Ontario, that took the train awften enough that the crew regonized him, after he left Lunch with us they asked us if we knew of any co-passengers who were bilingual. I said yes, told them which family (Mom-Dad-daughter). They sat him with this family at dinner and I looked over to him from my dinner and saw them all chatting away in Fench.

 

[Manny T]

The worst I ever shared a table with was a family of father, mother and adult son. They would not let go of their views of religion. I was preached to during the entire meal.

Yes Everydaymatters this is something I can sympathize with. I am quite interested in religion, I've studied (and practiced!) it, I would love to have a conversation about it. But I will never, ever, under any circumstances bring it up as a topic, and if others at the table start to discuss it, I will just eat in silence and say nothing, even if asked. I find that religion CANNOT be discussed under these circumstances, don't ask me why!