in defense of the subway

We recently had a conversation with some friends about people who are afraid of the subway, or avoid using the subway. Since then I’ve made a list of things people sadly miss out on by avoiding the subway:

-The time a saw a busty black woman dance around to the music on her iPod only to reach between her boobs to retrieve said iPod and change the song, then put it back in her bra for safe keeping. SERIOUSLY!

-Break/pole dancing in the car. Personally, I’m a fan of dancers and will tip them for the entertainment. The break dancers in the station, I don’t like as much because they take up too much space with their circles. The car dancers though, how they manage not to kick anyone in the face is beyond me.

-Kids selling candy (in a monotone voice) “Not for a club or a team, but for myself to stay out of trouble...” They always have chewy Jolly Ranchers and those are so hard to find!

-The guy in the Times Square station that plays the electric organ and has all these wind up toys that dance around as he plays (Cassi, you remember him, right?).

-The fights that break out between commuters and high schoolers about taking up too much space or not moving down to the middle of the cars.

-The guy in Penn Station who plays the Saw. (How does that become a talent?) He always reminds me of Home Improvement – You remember the episode when some lady was a guest on Tool Time and she played Greensleaves on the saw and it made Al cry...

-Getting to know the local homeless people, all of which have either just woken up right here on this train, are looking for work, and are not drug or alcohol users, and are just trying to provide for their family...

-They lady who rides the A train and plays on a beat up old drum pad: “It ain’t no joke for real I’m broke. Real broke.”

-The homeless guy who tells us “I ain’t homeless. This here’s my home. It’s a seven car speeding silver fast train. What are all you people doin’ in my livin’ room?”

-The quartet that reminds us, “Who woke you up this mornin’? God woke you up!” and in the evenings they sing us home with a rendition of “Good night sweetheart.”

-The trumpet trio in Time Square that play a ragtime version of Down by the Riverside.

-The boys from the Bronx asking for donations to pay for their senior trip to “Rome, Italy” “Say what?” “Rome, Italy”

-The Stomp-esq drummers on many a platform.

I could go on, but all these things make going and coming so much more fun. Some people in this city are missing out. (Watch I’ll get mugged on the way home when I’m on the Subway, now that I’ve written about all my favorite things.)

Here’s a list of the top eleven subway systems in the world. I finally have a reason to be jealous of Moscow and the French.