The Sweet Smell of ... Success?

Surprisingly, bad smells on the train don't come from the bathroom.

When I traipsed through Europe while in college, I became quite accustomed to two things while riding the trains: being vigilant about watching out for thieves and body odor. Not my body odor, but that of others. I bring this up only to point out that this is not a problem on the Coaster (nor is thievery). Deodorant use seems to be widespread in San Diego County. But that's not to say that repugnant smells don't assail my nostrils on occasion.

The first bad smell to hit me one unsuspecting morning was the grease smell of some type of morning sandwich, like an Egg McMuffin. It filled the whole car, and made my stomach churn even after the guy finished eating it. This is just too early for so much grease.

Another common odor is cheap hairspray, especially on rainy or misty mornings. Think the school bus in high school or the women's locker room.

And lest you think it's just women's beauty products that offend, more than once I have had to move because a man was wearing way too much cheap cologne. Once during a crowded morning commute I had to pull my shirt up over my nose to keep from gagging from this guy's morning cologne shower.

Bad breath has also motivated me to move.

One of the most unusual smells I've encountered on the Coaster is manure. I got on one morning and the whole train reeked of it. I looked around and no one else seemed to be reacting. It was really strong, and I had to cover my nose for the entire hour ride. When walking to work that morning, I asked a guy who works in my building about it, and he said, "You obviously haven't been riding the train very long." Turns out, this happens a few times a year, since the trains sit overnight right next to agricultural fields. Tomatoes maybe. So if they are fertilizing and the wind is just right, all of the cars get hit with it, and the trains smell for a couple of days. They actually made an announcement on my ride home that day, since they must have received many complaints.

Before riding the Coaster, I never thought of bad smells as something I'd have to deal with. But it's all part of the commuting experience. So maybe success actually does have a scent.