Archive for January, 2007
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
Choo Choo Charlie Revealed
With a big helping hand from Dan Brucker at the MTA press office, we found out the identity of the engineer named Charlie who’s retired after 39 years on the job. His full name is Charlie MacArthur. We’ll try to get him for an interview, but we suspect he’s still sleeping in.
No Comments » - Posted in Engineer by TJ
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
Charlie is Sleeping in Today
The relative quietude of the outgoing 6:10 yesterday was broken by an announcement over the loudspeaker: “Ladies and gentlemen, our engineer is retiring after 39 years on the job. So Charlie, good luck, good health and have fun, my friend.”
Congrats, Charlie, whoever you are.
Comments Off - Posted in Grand Central by TJ
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
I Thought My Commute Sucked
yesterday’s NY Times had an article about a poor guy in a wheelchair who traverses the city each day to go to college.
Times Select has the link.
Daunted by the Subway? Try It in a Wheelchair
By CLYDE HABERMAN
Published: January 30, 2007
New Yorkers with disabilities deal with obstacles that can be daunting at times even for those with […]
No Comments » - Posted in Subway by TJ
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Overheard on the 8:43
Asian woman, bleached blonde hair (roots), twentysomething.
Sort of pretty. Enters at White Plains. Talking on cell.
Sits. Still talking on cell.
“When’s the Super Bowl???”…
“This Sunday or next???”…
“Duh! I can’t. I work on Sunday.”…
“I work six days a week.”…
“Yup.”…
“Right.”…
“Yup.”…
“Right.”…
“I’ll call you later.”
Just thought y’all should know.
2 Comments » - Posted in White Plains, cell phone by TJ
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
It Takes a ‘ville
People from out of town confuse Bronxville with the Bronx, but they couldn’t be more different. Today I rode the Metro-North from Bronxville to Grand Central. A mere thousand yards from Bronxville, a train village with Gilded Age charm, the press of the Bronx begins. While Fleetwood and Mount Vernon are not technically part of […]
No Comments » - Posted in Botanical Garden, Bronx Zoo, Bronxville by TJ
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Despite All My Rage, I Am Still Just a Rat on the Platform
I’ve been riding the subways pretty regularly for 15 years, and never saw this until yesterday. I entered the 28th Street station just as the 6 was pulling away. There was a handful of people on the platform. Curiously, the dotted line of humanity stopped some 30 feet from the end of the platform, where […]
1 Comment » - Posted in 28th Street, 6 train by TJ
Monday, January 29th, 2007
Word of the Week: Booze it or Lose it
BOOZE IT OR LOSE IT \BOOZ iht or LOOZ iht\noun: The dilemma facing commuters about whether they have time to purchase a beer without risking missing their train.
Usage: Pondering the beer line with the 7:22 departing in less than a minute, Frank was faced with a Booze it or Lose it Situation.
1 Comment » - Posted in Beer, Glossary, Word of the Week by TJ
Monday, January 29th, 2007
Best Monday Morning Ever
It being a frigid-ass Monday and all (20 in the ‘burbs), I took the later train. The 8:43 was nearly empty. By
White Plains, it was only half full. I had my own two-seater, and no one in the two-er next to me. Nary a cell phone gabber. No train BFFs yapping about the weekend.
On […]
No Comments » - Posted in Arrival time, Grand Central, White Plains by TJ
Friday, January 26th, 2007
Merely My Height
Sprinted to catch the 7:52 after a long day at work. The train was jammed, and I eyed a two-seater occupied by a large man in the window seat. He gave me the look: Don’t do it. I did it, my side scraping along the armrest as I sat, before the hard rubber found a […]
No Comments » - Posted in 125th Street, Armrest, North White Plains, White Plains, Window Seat by TJ
Friday, January 26th, 2007
Ask Engine Bob
Q: Engine Bob, what would my commute have been like 50 years ago?
A: In some ways, very similar—and in others, worlds different. Fifty years ago, you’d still be joining hundreds of thousands of trenchcoat-clad suburbanites at 5:15 p.m., pounding their shoeleather down Grand Central’s limestone floors, stuffing themselves into commuter coaches and dreading being stuck […]