a testimony from a reliable source

in case any of you were questioning the purpose of your course in subway appreciation i have a quote from a long-time new yorker Olive who believes whole heartedly in the lab of life on the new york subway. In Olive's wise words, "By riding the subway you get your education. You see the good, the bad, and the ugly."

this being said after a business man, riding the train to work at 10:30 in the morning, finishes cleaning the cardboard of a twinkie package of its excess cake and licking everyone of his fingers, followed by finishing off the breakfast of champions and eating twinkie number two.

may we all take what we have learned from Olive today and press on through our course and continue on this quest for knowledge.

"ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing train traffic ahead, please be patient"

subway appreciation lesson #3
first watch this video
Now let me just say, the nyc subways arent exactly this packed, but nearly. ok well not really, but they are packed. now in dallas rush hour traffic lasts from about 7:30 am-9:30am and 4:30-maybe 6:45ish. in nyc train rush hour is from about 6:30am-10:30am and 3:30pm-7:30pm literally. if i am coming or going at any of these times it is packed. packed means long waits, standing, pushing through crowds, etc... given i only ride one line, so it could be different on the west side, but over on the green 456 it is packed. so here is what you must appreciate about this. those trains hold say maybe 200 people apiece with 11 cars on each train that is 2200 people per train. with all the trains in the city and over 20 lines running all over the place that is a whole heck of alot of people moving around. i mean it is pretty incredible to think about the bodies that go here and there during those hours. the trains come every few minutes at that time of day and by the time they arrive there have already been two or three local trains pass by the same platform to drop off more people to fill up the next express train arriving. i mean when you think about it the train system really is mind boggling. it is hard to understand the complexity of the coming and going and the ins and outs.

so at the same time we will take a moment to appreciate the ever so rare empty train during rush hour. what happens is (and i am speaking only from experience and observations specifically at grand central 42nd st) a 4 or 5 express train comes in already packed. people have been waiting for a while, so they say to heck with it i WILL get on this train if it kills me. so that train fills like the sardine video example in tokyo. the few and the patient say i will wait for the next train thank you. i wont put myself or the person next to me in any unnecessary discomfort today. and low and behold as soon as the packed train departs and is on its weighed down merry way, a fresh, light-on-its-feet, speedy, nearly empty, 4 or 5 train comes rolling right by to pick up all the patient left overs. then those who are patient get to ride home in style and comfort. of course this is not always the case. many times trains are packed and all are full of tired, worn out, new yorkers who just want to get home. and in that case we have to appreciate the trains either way cause in the end it is the cheapest, hassle free, dependable and quickest means of transportation in the city. so thank you MTA. we should have MTA appreciation day. i will work on that.

"this is a brooklyn bound Q train. next stop Canal"

subway appreciation lesson 2:
the lost art of chivalry and respect for elders

a good way to get a seat on a full train is to get pregnant. well you have to be showing substantially, and it would be good to be able to stay in that state for more than 12 weeks, but its a sure way to get a seat. you see something that you have to keep your eyes open to are the very few instances of people giving up their seat. here is how it tends to go. train stops, doors open, people exit, people previously on the train grab seats as people are exiting, before new people entering have a chance to get a spot, then comes in any of the following, pregnant woman, older lady (maybe 65 but clearly a new yorker who has done this for that long), old old man on cane or just decrepit. usually someone will give up a seat for all of these people. i think that is worth appreciating. it is just too bad i havent come across that fine gent who is willing to sacrifice his precious seat for me. oh well. now an exception to this situation is when a woman gives up her seat for one of the above mentioned, and there is a fine man then willing to give you his seat. and there is of course those men who do still have a small drop of chivalry left in their bones who when a seat comes open allows a lady to sit rather than taking it for themselves. i guess you could say the rarity come more when the man has to stand up and give up his spot on the bench.
questions? comments? concerns?

"Stand Clear of Closing Doors Please"

subway appreciation lesson 1:
appreciation of the homeless on subway.
1)i recently read a book called The Glass Castle, which I would highly recommend. it is by Jeanette Walls. It is a true story/memoir of this womans life, and her parents end up homeless in NYC. in the book she says how the city makes it too easy to be homeless. that it isnt even hard to be homeless in nyc. that is because so many people are willing to help out in small ways. i have decided that there is no reason not to give to people. it may be easy to think of a million reasons of why you shouldn't give to a homeless person, but i have decided for me it is easier to just be giving. and its not like you have the opportunity to give to someone every day or every train you get on, so when the opportunity arises i have chosen to take it. so tonight i gave a man a granola bar i had been carrying around for a couple of days, and i usually dig around in my bag for change when the united homeless organization comes through the train. it may be small, but it brings perspective on what i have. so instead of closing my eyes, turning the other way, reading my Bible, I am going to pay attention to those people who are all two often overlooked in this world. there is a level of appreciation that must happen when paying a person some attention.

2) on another aspect of the homeless subway rider, there must be a level of appreciation for the homeless stank. thats right the stank. sometimes it is just straight up stanky. i caught a wiff of it tonight and haven't been able to kick it since. but instead of moving from that seat because of my discomfort, i asked the homeless person to please move to the next train. i asked nicely, oh wait that is not how the story goes. ya know we are all people and we all gotta get somewhere. so i sat there and thought of what i would tell yall about appreciating the homeless person stinch. so when it is you on the train just take it in, and breathe through your mouth, and be a little more thankful for your shower when you get home that night.

homework

here is your homework for the subway appreciation course. click here and begin your journey of appreciation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TohBp6zT1rw


yes i saw this in real life.

extra credit or further research
http://www.blackviolin.com/