When you’re in the NYC Subway, you expect the unexpected, things breaking out of the underground monotony of smells, filth and boredom. And you get it too, but not usually in doubles.
By David Stone
Doubles in the NYC Subway
Sunday afternoon, riding the F Train through Midtown Manhattan, just before the doors closed, we watched a physically large couple wrestle onto the train.
Rushing in just after the recorded announcement that the doors were closing, they nearly met catastrophe because they got tangled. A baby stroller — with no baby in sight — and a cart with a bag of something jammed in got tangled.
The large couple frantically worked to pull them apart before the doors crushed one. Or someone. While a boy of around ten watched.
They made it, and we relaxed, but then…
Vespas arrived…
In the blink of an eye before it was two late, a pair of two-wheelers, a cross between motorcycle and vespa for which there’s no sensible name, rode in fast through two rear doors.
Look, I’ve seen bicycles escorted onto trains, and delivery guys on eBikes are no longer surprises, no matter how much space they consume.
But in the NYC Subway, this was unique, and their arrival improved the drama.
Not until later did we wonder how they got their bikes down to the 42nd Street platform, but why worry?
In spite of their sudden appearance and being completely out of place, they made a delightful improvement.
The guy in the blue jacket had a radio going, some kind of soft jazz thing, and they sang along while bouncing with the music.
In the NYC subway, you see this once. Treasure it, because you won’t unfortunately ever see it again.
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