It Only Takes One Fart, And We All Stink

They say that everyone farts between 10 and 20 times a day. Sometimes it may be loud and odorless, or smelly. Sometimes it's really smelly, sometimes it's silent but deadly.

One of the great inconveniences of riding public transportation is that you are at the mercy of people. Sometimes you take the bus or the train and its so crowded that it feels like a pack of sardines.

I'm not always late for work, but in this particular day last week, I was running late for a meeting at another health center. I hopped on the crowded Market Frankford Line, politely made my way toward the middle of the train and grabbed the overhead grab rail to keep myself from bumping into people. There was no room to move.

And then it hit me. A well dressed elegant woman standing in front of me farted, the foul smell was so intense that the stench burned my nostrils. I looked the other way to try to get away from her, to prevent myself from fainting. Remember, the train was so packed with commuters that there was no room to move anywhere. I thought her silent deadly fart was peeling the paint off the walls. Interestingly, people around us totally ignored the rotten smell and no one seemed to notice. It was the longest most uncomfortable train ride of my life.

For some reason, that smelly episode reminded me of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song titled - That Smell. "Oooh that smell. Can't you smell that smell? Oooh that smell. The smell of death surrounds you."

Yet another adventure riding the infamous Philadelphia Market Frankford Line.