Saturday, April 09, 2011

subway story

The NY subway system can be a real pain in the ass, especially on weekends, when they are perpetually doing maintenance, repairs, etc.

Today was no different - I was almost late for my first racquetball lesson because the R train was going express between Canal and Brooklyn and my stop was in-between, and I had to take a 4 local. So I was cranky to begin with and the psycho-drama between a middle-aged couple across the aisle was not making me any happier. The man was really obnoxious, talking to the woman in this bossy, insistent, repetitive way, but I ignored them the best I could. Then the man hit the woman. I didn't see it because my back was to them as I looked at the subway map. But I knew he did because right after a wonderful thing happened.

The man sitting next to me said to the man: "hey! don't do that!" and the two women nearby who saw what happened both chimed in. "What do you think you're doing?" and "that's not right!" and various things like that. The creepy man looked stunned. The two women then proceeded to psychoanalyze the guy, speculating on what was wrong with him in a 5-minute running commentary. The couple got off at the next stop, as did one of the good women. The other good woman, a Jamaican from her accent, got into a discussion with the good man about how the woman probably doesn't even mind being hit, she's probably used to it. And the guy said "that don't matter, he got to know it's not right. It's not approved of by the rest of us."

I was so filled with love for my fellow passengers. As I got up for my stop, I said to them "thank you so much for saying something. You did the right thing." Then I got off before they had a chance to reply. I was in such a great mood after that, and I don't know if it helped but I had a great time learning racquetball - it's quite exhilarating once you manage to hit the ball - which I eventually did. Still in a good mood after my lesson, I walked up Broadway from Battery Park to Union Square.

What a nice day.