Sabbatical

I have taken a month and a half long sabbatical from almost a lot of things, including posting my daily blogs.  You should try it.  It is liberating.  I have never felt more relieved than when I decided to take that plunge and just let go of my obligations. 

It may sound strange to hear that someone whose arms have not been twisted to chronicle a daily blog, suddenly feels it is more of an obligation than anything.  Indeed, you have earned the right to be perplexed with all these craziness.  I am as much as you are in a state of confusion.

However, if there is one thing I am certain, I know I have missed my daily subway rides apart from all its lunacy.  I have missed the smiles, the bumps, the jolts, and most of all, the thrills of the adventure. 

Now, this may sound confusing.  However, I have still taken my daily rides of the system, for there is no better way in most cases, to get to where I want to go than the subway.  The only difference is I have divorced myself from being immersed into the system.  It is more of a mechanical grind than anything.  Does it make sense?

I do not know if it makes sense to you, but it does to me.  When I ride the subway, I enter an underworld of fraternal minds, a world much less like above, except the people have a common thread, the need for speed.

 

Rotten Air

Have you ever come across a situation where someone has passed a “revolting breeze” head-on to your face?

 Well…I have always wondered about it as I follow the queue of escalator climbing commuters.  The thought of someone passing the much “dreaded air” as my face continue to follow an ascending ”bottom” would be enough to make me faint.

It has dawned on me that once this flatus is expelled, I would be inhaling someone else’s hydrogen sulfide and varying amounts of methane.  Yikes! 

It is not only disgusting, but one heck of a nightmare.  I would be taumatized for life.

 

Tourist Trap

How do you know a tourist when you see one?  Can you really tell?  If you can, will you be able to spot the difference between a domestic traveler and a foreign vacationist? 

I supposed it is more difficult these days where a variety of languages and dialects have become ubiquitously spoken across a growing multicultural nation.  It is rather hard to differentiate a vacationing tourist from Paris to a Parisian who has been a long-time Manhattanite.  Often, you would find that in the local Parisian households, French is still the preferred spoken language vis-a-vis English.

On my train ride this morning, I found myself seated beside a mother and her son who seemed to be on their way to the museum for an educational day of exploration with a fellow mother and her daughter.  I could see from my peripheral view that they were searching for a map. 

I did not understand their language, but somehow I knew they were headed to one of the museum stops.  As the train slowly pulled to their station, I found it odd to see them remained calm.  They seemed to be oblivious it was their stop.

I figured I had to do something.  I did not want them to miss their station.  I could not afford in my conscience to have those kids spoil their adventure by getting lost.  I quickly turned to one of the mothers and called her attention to the station sign.  With a perplexed face, she grabbed her son and signaled the other mother to take her daughter to rush to the other side of the open doors. 

In their haste to get out, the boy got caught in the closing door and so was the girl’s mother.  If not for the collective and coordinated efforts of a bunch of good samaritans, they would have missed their stop.  The commuters jumped to their aid and held back the closing doors.  The sight was something to behold.  It was amazing! 

You could not hope for a better New York than what I had witnessed.  Commuters came together to lend a helping hand to a group of tourists who were lost. 

It was a defining moment for native New Yorkers.  It was a living testimony to the goodness of people, without regard for color, language or anything in between.

 

Subway Surfer

Have you ever been in a subway car where the isolated metal post towards the rear door is slightly far from the horizontal bars hanging over the bench-type seats?

If you have seen a few of these cars, then you would know what I mean.  When the train is somewhat loosely packed with no bars or posts to hold on, commuters end up leaning on each other to keep themselves grounded. 

The question is…how far do you think can people survive the bumpy ride without losing their balance?  It is hard to tell before someone embarrassingly falls on the ground. 

It seems that a number of commuters have developed an increasing ability to handle the subway bumps and jolts like a surfer riding the ocean waves.  There is no doubt that safety has been compromised on this regard.  But what can be done?

Can commuters rectify the situation they have found themselves in?  If you believe they can, how?   On the other hand, should the MTA intervene in correcting the problem?  What do you think?

 

The Whispering Town Crier

Have you ever noticed that no matter how much you try to put your ears on the ground to listen to the dreaded page of the day, you end up wondering what in the world is the subway town crier muttering about?

It is oxymoronic when someone who has been tasked to broadcast an important announcement, often fails to deliver an audibly clear message that informs commuters of unexpected routing changes.  In most cases if not all, a muffled PA System seems to be the culprit.  Commuters are left in the cold to wonder what steps to take, where to go, or when to make the move.

For instance, sometime in the early part of the morning today, the infamous E train has been re-routed to avoid the flooding in Queens.  People have rushed out from the sardine-packed train car to find their way to an alternative route.  They have been left confused and grappling to make sense out of the barely discernible announcement.  Bedlam has ensued as commuters rushed in all directions.

Undeniably, the sytem has to be changed.  Perhaps, since it is the advent of digital technology, from HD TV to HD Radio, the PA System needs a rebirth.  It can spell the difference between order and chaos.

 

The Rush of the Sardines

Have you ever thought of how it feels like to be a sardine, cramped up in an airtight container? 

Well…you do not have to be a member of the Herring Family, Clupeidea, to understand how it feels when packed in an oil-filled can.  It only costs two dollars ($2.00) to get a taste of it. 

Get up early, join the morning rush, buy yourself a Metrocard, and hop on the subway.  You will most likely than not, get a first hand look on a commuter rush as it unfolds.

Take for instance, the E train, notorious for its packed cars and body jams.  Get to the tail end of the train around 8:30 in the morning and witness the repeated humiliation of people trying to squeeze themselves in to make it on time for work. 

As if it is not embarrassing enough to be caught on the closing doors as you force your way through the unbelievably congested car, the packed space makes it even more insufferable as people remain immobilized from station to station, waiting for an airspace to make a body turn.  The ride may take a minute, but it feels forever when you are next to someone who releases unsavory air wherever it comes out.  Get the picture?

 

The Daily Sojourn

Have you ever wondered what life would be like in New York City without the subway? 

It must have surely crossed your mind in a number of occasions.  However, I suppose that like everyone else who appreciates the undeniable importance of the subway, you run a laundry list of reasons to develop an aversion towards the system, from unsightly filth and repugnant smell to sardine-packed train cars and delayed arrivals. 

Who would not feel repulsed by the mounting trash scattered across the track with the ”gargantuan rascals” running loose all over the place?  It is definitely not a sight for the faint of heart.

Nonetheless, when you look around, no one seems to care.  More likely than not, commuters have learned to adapt to the unsettling surrounding.  They have become oblivious to the view.  People are more concerned with getting to their destinations expeditiously.  There is no better way to beat the rush hour than the subway.

It is an intricate part of navigating throughout the city without the worries of traffic conditions and running meters.  The subway is not simply a mode of transit.  It is a way of life in the city.