Today on the 1 train

Out of work at 1 o'clock pm, sitting on the train, looking forward to eating a sandwich when I get home. Suddenly my concentration is broken as the doors to 86th street open.

Enter, (train) stage left. Two women.

Single Mom: Light blonde hair- ponytail, light blue jeans, white sweatshirt, late 40's. Nasally New York accented voice.

Homeless Lady: Buzzed hair, mostly gray. Looks young and old, male and female at the same time (with exception to the gray hair and wrinkles). Judging by limp, one leg may be longer than the other. low gruff New York accented voice.

Both women speak in YELLS. Projecting their voices as though the rest us are the audience to their performance piece.

SM: EXCUSE ME! WE NEED TO SIT DOWN! SHE'S HOMELESS!
(man immediately gives up seat)
SM: THANK YOU! (pause) OK I'M GONNA GIVE YOU THE NUMBER FOR THIS PLACE! AND YOU HAVE TO CALL IT TODAY! YOU HAVE TO CALL IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN! THEY'RE GONNA HELP YOU! NOT MANY HOMELESS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE!

HL: THANK YOU! I WILL. I WILL! I'LL CALL WHEN I GET BACK TO THE SHELTER! I CAN CALL WHEN I GET BACK TO THE SHELTER AT 2!

SM: OK, JUST CALL! IF YOU DON'T CALL, YOU WOULD BE STUPID!

HL: I'LL CALL!

SM: NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE! IT'S FOR OLDER HOMELESS WOMEN!

HL: I KNOW ABOUT IT!

SM: NO YOU DON'T!

HL: YES I DO! I'VE BEEN TO THEIR SOUP KITCHEN, IT'S GOOD!

SM: OK LET ME WRITE THIS DOWN FOR YOU!

(HL gives SM her papers, SM shuffles through her large purse, papers etc. fall everywhere.)

SM: OH!! SHHHHUGAR!!! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! HOW DID EVERYTHING JUST FALL OUT LIKE THAT?

HL: I DON'T KNOW!

SM: THIS IS JUST... I'LL TELL YOU WHY! I'M A SINGLE MOM! I'VE GOT SO MUCH TO KEEP TRACK OF! OK LET ME WRITE THIS DOWN!

(4 seconds of silence)

HL: HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU HAVE?!

SM: ONE SON! I HAD HIM WHEN I WAS 38!

HL: REALLY!? MY MOTHER HAD ME WHEN SHE WAS 38! THAT MAKES ME FEEL NOT SO ALONE!

SM: I DON'T WANT YOU TO FEEL ALONE! JUST CALL THIS NUMBER OK, YOU WON'T BE ALONE!

HL: I'LL CALL WHEN I GET BACK TO THE SHELTER!

(train arrives at 110 st)

SM: WHAT STREET IS THIS?! 110TH STREET1?!

HL: THIS IS MY STREET! I HAVE TO GET OFF HERE! TO HELL WITH YOU LADY! GIVE ME MY PAPERS BACK! I NEED MY PAPERS BACK OR I CAN'T GET IN TO THE SHELTER!

SM: WHAT?! THESE ARE MY PAPERS! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?

HL: (with urgency) NO, THEY'RE MINE! I GAVE THEM TO YOU TO WRITE THE NUMBER DOWN!

(doors shut. the women miss their stop)

HL: I MISSED THE STOP! IT'S OK, I CAN GET OFF AT 125 AND GO BACK!

SM: OK I'M GETTING OFF HERE, WHAT WAS YOU'RE NAME?!

HL: LORRAINE! WHAT'S YOURS!?

SM: MARY!

(SM gets off at 116. HL YELLS to herself until the next stop)

HL: WELL I'M NEVER GONNA MAKE IT BACK TO THE SHELTER IN TIME. I'M NEVER GONNA MAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE UPPER EAST SIDE BY TWO. I'M NEVER GONNA MAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO 174TH AND JEROME BY TWO. I GUESS I'M GONNA LOSE MY BED. I GUESS I'M GONNA LOSE MY SHELTER BED, BECAUSE IF I DON'T GO TO THE MEETING BY TWO, I LOSE MY BED. I LOSE MY SHELTER BED FOR NINETY DAYS. (she curses Mary for a few sentences). I'M NEVER GONNA MAKE IT. I GUESS I'M JUST GONNA LOSE MY BED.

(train arrives at 125. Lorraine hobbles off.)

I appreciated my sandwich today much more than usual.
Right now, it's 2:18pm. I doubt she made it to the shelter by 2.

Krishna, you can make it!

Today on the subway after work I was reading an article in New York magazine- Krishna Gone Missing. Krishna, a Nepalese woman, was visiting her daughter in Queens. She didn't know any English. One morning she went for a jog and didn't come back for three days- because she got lost, and wandered through Brooklyn and Queens for three days. With the help of a kind stranger, she finally made it back to the house.

Krishna, finally safe.

While I was reading, I smelled something really strange and horrible. It was a homeless woman standing next to my arm- everyone was covering their face and a guy opened the "do not open" doors (the ones the beggars use) so fresh underground subway air would let some of the smell out of the car. I felt bad for her so I breathed out of my mouth and kept reading. The longer I smelled her odor, the sadder I was. Feeling compelled, I gave her my apple when I got off.

Here's a mapped rendition of Krishna's journey.

Space Invaders

I have to admit a terrible new habit I have adopted.

When I am in close proximity to a stranger who is using a BlackBerry, I love to read the email/conversation (s)he is having...

When the topic is not work, I've noticed multiple times that the conversation involves a conflict of some sort. For example, yesterday I was bored on the subway and happened to be standing beside a seated middle aged woman in a gardening hat. Her floral print dress was not consonant with her floral print cardigan. She was drafting a very long email to her mother, who I learned had a problem with alcoholism. The seated lady urged her mother to rise above her habit and support Sarah, a cousin who was divorcing her husband. Seated lady referred to a previous conflict they had (maybe it was on the phone?), and explained how much she loved the little boy who was her Godson, and the child of the soon-to-be-divorcee. "Please" she said. "I can't tell you how much I love them." The aloof mother seemed to be set in her judgements. 

So I re-positioned myself on the train to catch a glimpse of her features. They were somewhat sharp, almost rat-like, but kind. Her lipstick was a red that matched her backless pumps, and she really needed to pull her dress down a little bit...

She got off at 72nd street. Maybe for tea?

So many conflicts now are typed and edited with a straight face. There are benefits to this- but it prohibits us from the emotional purging of a face to face confrontation that, when resolved is often very reconciling. 

And I reconcile my invasion of stranger's privacy with thoughtful analysis of human behaviour... ;) 

Always be aware of your surroundings.

An abnormal man was standing on the subway track holding a large black trash bag. He looked a bit lost. There was a large group of us waiting for the train- tense and silently wondering if he was going move. Maybe he was a mole person on crack who lost his way? 

One woman was able to yell "Get off the tracks, a train is coming!" but no one else said or did anything. They were probably experiencing the event similarly to me- helplessly transfixed and picturing the possibility of him being run over by a subway train in the next 30 seconds. That potential reality is very distracting.

So our train came- the 1 local at 137th street. My reaction to the possible flattening was squinted eyes and a slow turn away from the track in time with the hit... if it were to happen. I made eye contact with the lady next to me who did the same thing- our looks said, "I really hope this doesn't happen."

The train stopped and it appeared as though he had moved to the center of the tracks in time to avoid a collision. I was pretty relieved- that would have ruined a lot of days.

Sing Along Songs

Brilliant.

Today

Free coffee from Ben
Homeless lady with a beard
Nanny screamed, "I quit!"


Daily Haikus- fun and extremely late on the bandwagon (by about 2 years?)

Weedz

Michelle is planting a garden!

"Almost the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, "whether they like it or not," Mrs. Obama said laughing."

As she follows in the footsteps of Eleanor the Great (the last First Lady to have a vegetable garden), perhaps we can follow their examples. Literally?

Here's the blueprint.

"The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatilloes and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil. A White House carpenter who is a beekeeper will tend two hives for honey."

LUCKY.

Read the article in its entirety- cute

May the garden and gastronomic adventure of the First Family inspire us all- even if it's just a little basil or a tomato plant!