Archive for September, 2008
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Near-Tragedy on the Tappan Zee
A reader writes in and says a friend was driving over the Tappan Zee Bridge yesterday and witnessed a would-be jumper who presumably paid no heed to the signs on the bridge reminding the despondent that Life is Worth Living.
The driver was stuck in traffic and watched the rescue team pull the distraught man off […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Tappan Zee by TJ
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Dumb and Dumberer
For the second time in ten months, a GPS device has steered a driver onto the tracks in Bedford Hills, where his car was obliterated by an onrushing Metro-North train.
Metro-North riders were delayed around 90 minutes after last night’s incident.
California man Bo Bai was the object of nationwide ridicule in January, not because his name […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Stuck on Tracks by TJ
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Genit-halla
With the British graffitti artist “Banksy” auctioning his art in London, we thought we’d tip the Stetson to some priceless graffitti offered up on one particular Harlem line train.
It was a poster ad for the Summit, a gargantuan office complex on the border of Valhalla and Hummerville from Westchester’s own Robert Moses, Louis Cappelli.
“RISE TO […]
No Comments » - Posted in Louis Cappelli, Valhalla by TJ
Monday, September 29th, 2008
Word of the Week: BIPOLAR EXPRESS
BIPOLAR EXPRESS /BY poh ler ecks PRESS/ noun: A train filled with mentally unstable passengers.
Usage: The conductor on the 6:12 to Westport was overheard saying, “There must have been a full moon last night, my train was a Bipolar Express.”
[contributed by Conductor Bobby]
No Comments » - Posted in Derailed, Word of the Week by TJ
Monday, September 29th, 2008
Where in the World is LilSubwayCrybaby?
LilSubwayCrybaby has gone underground again.
She got the transit blogosphere buzzing with a missive six weeks ago saying she was walking amongst the so-called Mole People living hundreds of feet below Manhattan in the city’s labyrinthian network of train tunnels.
She posted again late last week, saying she was down below again–and for the foreseeable future.
I’ve decided […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Mole People by TJ
Monday, September 29th, 2008
Straphanger Joe Wordlessly Manipulates F Train Riders
Handbrake as a Metaphor
By the time I made it to the train Friday morning, after dropping my son off at school (something I love to do), I was damp, my waterproof shoes were wet, and my umbrella was soaked.
I did not feel like talking to anyone or even looking at anyone–my mood having shifted […]
No Comments » - Posted in F Train, Straphanger Joe, iPhone by TJ
Friday, September 26th, 2008
What to Call Metro-North’s Five-Headed Love Monster
Reader MightyQuinn wants to know what to call the icky “straddling” phenomenon that involves complete strangers rubbing knees and inner thighs together as they squeeze into opposing seats in Metro-North’s five-seaters.
Great question. I’ve thought of this myself and have not been able to come up with a good Word of the Week for it (For-knee-cation? […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Five-Seater by TJ
Friday, September 26th, 2008
7th Heaven
One inch.
That was the difference between a 7 train full of miserable souls heading home from Shea Stadium, and a boisterous bunch with the illogical image of October baseball in their minds.
One inch.
That was the difference between a Carlos Beltran line drive in the bottom of the 9th slamming into the webbing of Micah Hoffpauir’s […]
No Comments » - Posted in 7 Train, Grand Central by TJ
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
This Magic Moment. Then That Magic Moment.
Some days I walk to work convinced I’ll have nothing to write about.
This morning, for instance. Could I really eke out a whole column on the rampant construction along Houston Street? All right, one hardhat on a ladder did shout down to his crew, “I wanna dip my balls in it!” Good line. But good […]
No Comments » - Posted in Foot It, L Train by TJ
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Bobby the Conductor: When Riders Attack
The always entertaining/illuminating Bobby Derailed blog has a compelling yarn about Conductor Bobby throwing himself in the middle of a bloody, drunk fray on the New Haven Line. (Fourth item, down past Bobby’s chance meeting with JFK’s nephew.)
Writes Bobby:
It seems that the white guy, who was very intoxicated, got on the train and started making […]