Submission

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Whenever I'm walking up a subway staircase during rush hour, I look up and see a resigned throng. Bobbing heads, rounded shoulders, slow and steady like turtles. A lonely crowd trudging along in "mass man" formation. I want to run up the steps like a Marine with F. Lee Ermey barking cadence, but you can only go with the flow in Union Square. Bounding up a staircase two steps at a time is great for the spirit; walking like a coal miner one step at a time achieves an opposite effect.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 20, 2009 at 1:48 PM

comment #1

rr3333 says ...

New York's not the happiest place in the world ... especially underground.

Outsiders who think that NY, in being the melting pot that it is, is a good thing. Trust me, it ain't.

Lucky for you that you dont have to take the LIRR as well (like I do) ... But once Friday nite comes around, and I'm home in lovely Plainview, LI, away from the mass of unhappiness and misery that occupy Manhattan, I'm very content (until, of course, Monday morning comes around).

Posted by rr3333 at March 20, 2009 2:51 PM

comment #2

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Back in my NYC student days, I had the exits for all my subway stations memorized, so I knew which cars to get into. Then, when the doors opened, there were usually usually around half a dozen of us (almost always guys) who would be the first out, bounding up the stairs two at a time.

When that wasn't possible, sometimes I would actually stay behind, reading whatever I was reading (and I ALWAYS had a book on the trains) until it cleared out and I could run up the stairs.

Only, the nice thing about staying with the crowd was there were usually a number of women you could steal looks at and daydream about having one of those "meet cute" moments...

Ah, youth...

It's gone for all of us, Jeff.

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at March 20, 2009 3:07 PM

comment #3

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Speak for yourself. You're talking about a form of resignation, which isn't in my vocabulary or constitution.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at March 20, 2009 3:16 PM

comment #4

Sefster says ...

Sorry, rr3333, don't trust you on the mix or certainly don't agree with you on the happiness. I live it and love it.

And I wonder if in any other city people would be spring-boarding up stairs jovially when there was a similar volume of people going up a such a narrow stairwell.

Posted by Sefster at March 20, 2009 3:29 PM

comment #5

Edward says ...

I commuted to the city from Jersey one summer. Wouldn't trade that experience for anything. Loved working in NY, commuting, going to the occasional show after work. Oregon has a way different vibe. Love it here, but will always have a special place in my heart for the Apple.

Posted by Edward at March 20, 2009 3:53 PM

comment #6

Gordon27 says ...

Nobody should ever be excited enough to be in Union Square to bound up anything.

Posted by Gordon27 at March 20, 2009 5:42 PM

comment #7

rr3333 says ...

Been commuting for 20 years.

Would trade it in a second to work in LI full time.

Manhattan. Been there. Done that. Good riddance.

Posted by rr3333 at March 20, 2009 5:46 PM

comment #8

mccool says ...

resignation isn't in your vocabulary? then the word masochism must be, otherwise there's no explanation as to why you repeatedly put yourself in situations you know will make you miserable.

Posted by mccool at March 20, 2009 6:04 PM

comment #9

mccool says ...

From NY, love NY, but it would take a helluva lot of money to get me to work or move there. Dark corridors, high cubicles, steamy subways, offices without windows ... the epitome of the rat race. I live and work in Philly, and while it may be a second rate city, i've got a view of it all with the same pay and three times the quality of life. Rationalizing? Maybe a little, but nothing a $10 bolt-bus ride can't easily cure.

Posted by mccool at March 20, 2009 6:13 PM

comment #10

Sabina E says ...

I like being around people because I like to watch people. It's almost magical when you're sitting in the subway, because people come and go. you make eye contact with someone who stares back at you and you wonder what they're thinking... i especially like going up on a crowded escalator and look at people that i'll never see again in my lifetime...

Posted by Sabina E at March 20, 2009 7:38 PM

comment #11

George Prager says ...

This isn't submission, it's discipline. This is what kept people safe when they marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on 9/11.

Posted by George Prager at March 21, 2009 1:48 PM

comment #12

lipranzer says ...

Like DeathTongue, I get on the subway car going to and from work that will get me to the right staircase that'll get me to work fastest, and at the right exit door.

One other thing I've noticed after living here 8 years and taking the subway that long - in a way, trying to maneuver through crowds at a subway station when you're in a rush to get to a particular destination would be great training for a prospective running back or wide receiver, particularly in handling broken field running. Of course, running on concrete floors can be hell on the knees, but so is running on AstroTurf.

Posted by lipranzer at March 21, 2009 8:23 PM

comment #13

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comment #14