Can I Just Ask?


Who takes a pair of three-year-olds on the train in the quiet car? That’s just cruel to them, to everyone nearby, or—as in the present case—both.

Also cruel: telling them that it’s just two more stops, but forgetting about Newark and Newark Airport.


I consider the quiet car to be among the great transportation innovations of our era. I do remember, though, being amused the first time I rode in it, when, at the start of the journey, the conductor’s booming voice came over the loudspeaker to advise: “You are seated in the quiet car. Please refrain from loud noises.”