I had purchased a discounted train ticket from New York to New Orleans a few weeks before the scheduled end of my employment. At the time, I was about 18-years-old and had been living in a cheap hostel, 12 people to a room, out in Brooklyn while I worked my exciting, albeit less-than-minimum-wage, job.
As what sometimes happened with my employment, the end date changed and it was now two weeks prior to the departure date listed on my train ticket; leaving me two weeks without pay in New York. Not a big deal, I tried to scramble around and find some pickup work as a waitress during those two weeks but no luck. I had to move out of the hostel 3 days before my train left because I could not afford to rent it any further. I had a total of 4 dollars and some change left in my name.
I decided my safest bet was to sleep at Penn Station. They didn’t allow you into the boarding area more than 24hrs before your scheduled departure, but they had no choice but to let you hang around the station since you could show them your purchased ticket, therefore making you a ‘customer’. No doubt I was ‘checked on’ by security somewhat frequently during those few days to see if I had a ticket.
The first day wasn’t so bad, I was thirsty and tired more than I was hungry. At least water fountains and sinks are free. But by the third day I felt so hungry and sitting on the floor across from an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Shop and the numerous tourists walking around with pizza and other delicious food stuffs did not help that hunger. I kept trying to nap hoping the feeling would go away, but when security feels the need to wake you up every 2 hours or so and ask to see your ticket, that doesn’t help much either.
I told myself just a little bit longer and I would be in New Orleans, working a new job and would be able to buy some more food. I didn’t want to part with the few dollars I did have in case some other emergency popped up.
New York to New Orleans is about a 30hour train ride. It is slow and steady and there isn’t a lot to see. The family in front of me was eating a huge order of hot wings that smelled amazing. I tried to face out the window, hoping to fall asleep so New Orleans would happen faster. I did fall asleep, and when I woke up the family was gone but there was a paper tray filled with chicken bones, one or two with most of the meat still intact, laying under their seat.
I stared at it and thought about all of the possible germs. I also thought about what would happen if the family was still on the train and caught me eating their wings, how mortified I would be. I also thought about how hungry I was.
I ate them.
I think about that sometimes, how incredibly lucky I am now, but how scared I was then, ducking behind the woolen seats, to clean off someone else’s discarded food.
That was probably the most depressing meal I have ever eaten.
-Robin Maxkii
Originally answered on Quora