Fifth Avenue:
In New York there are two types of people, those who prefer the subway and the people who only do the bus.
Now I haven’t been here long enough to really make a decision (it’s like picking a baseball team), but if pressed, I would say I am a ‘straphanger’, that is one of the subway mob.
I love the Subway system. I love that it takes no time at all to get to my destination. I love living near a ‘hub’ station. I love spying the rats on the underground tracks, perhaps even giving these rats a secret name if I need to waste time when the train takes too long to arrive.
What I don’t like, is how hot it is down there in the Subway at the moment.
So Friday, I took the sub up to 59th - - I was shopping for Maysen, Lucas, Poppy and Jamie on Fifth Avenue, and on the way home, it was so humid, about 5.30pm - peak hour, and couldn’t be bothered walking back to Lexington to get the Subway, so I decided to try out the bus down Fifth for the first time. I’ve caught many a bus cross-town in Manhattan, but never down 5th.
So first thing I discover is that there are a million different busses, traveling that route, and a million different bus stops. I walked from 54th down to 42nd trying to work out which one I needed. Got myself an iced tea, and sat and waited at 42nd Street for the M2.
I Watched all sorts of tourists trying to hail down their own rogue busses (which was a bit fun). Even saw a few running and waving after their busses – that was more fun).
Finally got on my bus, and scored what I like to call, the ‘window seat’. Shuffled right over there with all my shopping bags and relaxed to enjoy the view (and the airconditioning).
Then this happened.
A big lady got on at 34th Street.
I’m trapped in the window seat. (actually half a window-seat) I’m supposed to be getting off at the next stop.
I do the ‘gather the bags’ thing. Try to give her the ‘I need to get up in a minute’ vibe. But no… we get to 23rd street, she didn’t move! I did the requisite “excuse me”, she just looked at me blankly, but with this weird vacant smile which scared the hell out of me. I finally resorted to
“Would you mind allowing me to get off this bus?” Let’s just say that I had to wait and get off at the next stop - 14th Street!!
Now. I’ve seen weird things in New York. I’ve seen people walking around talking to themselves with no mobile phone in sight.
I’ve seen people with shopping trolleys yelling to other ‘people’ who don’t exist, and those people they are yelling at are probably still somewhere in Vietnam.
I’ve seen people doing “Interpretive Dance” in Central Park when it’s really not called for.
But this woman was silently freaky.
I think I’m sticking with the Subway from now on!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
You know what I've always wondered about the subway? The amount of AA batteries scattered everywhere on the tracks, and I mean everywhere. I used to see those guys that hop on the trains to sell a 2 pack of AA or AAA's for $1...but how many people would need new batteries??
I also just recently moved to the City. I have always been... shall we say... "obsessed" with public transportation in general. I used to live in LA and, although I could get around without a car, I can't say it compares at all to what we have here in New York. It's simply the best system in the country... possibly the world (although London has a pretty good thing going, too.) The subways have it locked up, no contest. I don't know what the "bus only" people are thinking. The bus system here is not a complete system. It only works to supplement the subways... they are fine for short distances (crosstown, for example), but the streets are too clogged to imagine taking it regularly from, say, the upper west side to the lower east side on a regular basis.
The subways here are near perfect, in all of their broken down, filthy, rat-infested and urine-stinking glory. I love them....
Post a Comment