Surprise, surprise: subway musings

You'd think something like this would be standardized, but every turnstile has a slightly differently pitched beep in the subway. Swipe your card, *beep!* The busier the station, the more you notice it; dissonant notes colliding in syncopated bursts- almost too sharp on your ears, but there's something musical about it.

The subways are a great musical venue. You can get a different mini-concert at every stop. Piano-played Zero 7, saxophone jazz, beautiful opera, drummers on pails- little snippets as your train pulls in and out of stations, in & out.

I like taking the 7 train home at night, because the view of Manhattan's skyline is spectacular. The train pierces the ground after its second stop in Queens, rising gradually as it turns a 90 degree corner, and suddenly you're confronted (if you're facing the right way) with the skyscrapers- especially wonderful when they're brilliantly lit up at night. Tonight it almost looked like if I stuck my arm out, I could have grabbed the Chrysler in my fist and taken it home with me- like an uprooted carrot.

One thing I love about New York is the shared newspapers. Someone's always reading over someone else's shoulder or picking up an abandoned section to peruse. The other day I decided to keep the cycle going: the man sitting next to me was obviously peeking at my Style section of the NYTimes, and I tried to hide my chuckle. When we pulled into my station, I grabbed my bag, stood up, and laid the section on my seat on my way out. I glanced back through the window once standing on the platform, and sure enough, he had snatched it up. You're welcome, buddy. Just be sure to pass it on to someone else when you're done. :)

When Michelle and I were coming down from the Upper East Side after a lecture last week, a woman approached us asking where she could transfer to the E train. Since I was making the very same switch, I walked with her through the station. We chatted about the subway- she used to live in the city and had just recently returned, and could have sworn that this was a new connection. We laughed about how quickly the city changes. Who says New Yorkers are always mean and aggressive?