I am filing this post under New York Nuisance which started as a category that I used to have ALOT of material for due to the fact that I worked in an extremely touristy area of Manhattan. I no longer work in that area and my material has seriously diminished so I may have to change this category to just New York and it will encompass stories or scenarios that are unique only to New York.
Commuting during rush hour in New York City is usually a pretty hairy experience and you have to be down with how these commuters move or you will literally be trampled over. I have seen tourists trying to make their way down the stairs after a train has just pulled into the station and emptied, and it wasn't pretty. You can see the sheer panic in their eyes as they get caught up in the massive amounts of people going against them in the flow of traffic.
I have spent my entire adult life commuting throughout the city and even I can get a little pushed around on a Friday afternoon commute in the summer if I am not totally on my game. People are carrying big weekender bags and have no qualms about whacking you with them because god forbid they miss that Long Island Railroad train out to the Hampton's and won't make it to happy hour on time.
So yesterday's commute started as any other as I headed into the subway station in Times Square. It was crazy busy, tons of people fighting silently to flee the city. This time though I was completely in the moment and for the first time ever realized how truly amazing this whole scene unfolding in front of me really was.
Hundreds of people racing through Times Square to catch any one of eight trains and coming and going from every conceivable direction without any noticeable collisions. Commuters coming within inches of each other and not colliding and each one knowing that if one single step is taken out of order from the given pace, any number of unpleasant occurrences could result.
There is a certain nuance to the way New Yorkers commute, so many people from so many different walks of life participating together in a movement that is so quick and precise it is utterly unbelievable. And if you haven't been lucky enough to either witness or participate in this event, than you haven't fully lived and you better get your ass to Times Square, fast.
