Crazy Stuff: Weird Guy on Train

Ok… So I am really starting to think that crazy stuff follows me. Evidently, I am going to have to have to concur with Keon and Cynthia that I am a weird magnet. We were on the city train on our way back from Luisenpark, which is actually a huge Botanical Garden and Zoo with really beautiful flowers and weird-looking animals. See the pics below. As we approached a stop, we glazed to the other side of the tracks where another train going in the opposite direction was letting off some passengers. All of a sudden, this guy starts yelling and making weird gestures towards the train driver by pointing at his wrist where his watch is located. Then, as the train proceeds to take off, the guy leaps in the front of the train by throwing one leg and arm on the windshield. The train driver immediately stops the train. As this is occurring, everyone is staring in utter disbelief. And for those who have traveled to Germany, you know that Germans, unlike Americans, rarely make public scenes or reactions to public scenes. Thus, observing everyone’s faces was really funny.

However, this is not the end of the incident. After leaping onto the windshield like a fly, the guy then takes off running towards the back of the train. Everyone is looking to see where he is going. All of sudden, he makes himself known. He is on our train! The guy took off running from his side of the tracks to our side and jumped on our train just as we were riding off. Everyone on the train starts to tense up as he paces from the back to the front of the train. As he does this, he seems to be looking either at us or looking at a seat. But this was hard to tell because one of his eyes was really off. Thus, we did not know what he was looking at!

He then proceeds to march to the back of the bus and sits in between a woman and man who are clearly together. And he just stares at them! This makes them extremely uncomfortable so they just get off at the next stop. We don’t even think this was there stop. The guy then proceeds to do the same thing to some women at the very back of the train. At the next stop, they immediately get off. This was not their stop either! He then marches his way back up towards the front of the train and just walks by staring at us and everyone else. All of us were very uncomfortable. Cynthia got a little scared so we switched seats so that she could sit on the inside. My mom, being the “bout it” person that she is, has a glass bottle in hand ready to strike when he reaches that “level.” My grandma and I just laughed because we are silly. As we approached the Paradeplatz, which is one of the main train stops in Mannheim, roughly everyone on the train got off. As the train rode off, the guy was just standing in the door way looking at us and the sky.

We would have taken a picture of him, but we didn’t know how he would react to that and I am under the impression that you do not mess with people like him. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that my brief recollection of this memorable event has painted a video in your mind.

Now, this incident was funny to me because I tend to think most things that individuals do are funny. But there is a larger health issue which should be addressed (Sorry for my sociological epithet, but I believe this is an important issue and I should take time to briefly say something). Mental illness is a serious issue. If you know someone who you think is effected by mental illness, it is not a time to poke fun. Rather, you should aim to get them some assistance to keep them safe, as well as the individuals around them safe.