Admit it. You see Mileposts, the Metro-North news rag you find on your seat each month, and you leaf through it. You check to see how your train line stacked up the previous month against the other two. You pump your fist gently if yours has won, and shake your head at the thought of those poor New Haven Line souls waiting in the freezing cold for a late train yet again.
Exactly who pens those witty little missives from Metro-North headquarters, you wonder. (OK, no one besides me in the 25-year history of Metro-North has ever wondered this.)
We’ll tell you who it is. It’s a man named Joe Antonacci.
We checked in with Joe, and here’s what he had to say.
I am a former reporter/copy writer/flak. Like you, I believe communicating the “picayune details” of commuting—new schedules, station renovations, whatever the heck we are up to at any given moment—doesn’t have to be a joyless undertaking for the writer or the reader. A little humor goes a long way toward getting people to read and remember your message. (And of course, I always work clean. This is a public agency.)
I must love something about railroading, because I’ve been offered numerous jobs over the years, and yet have chosen to remain at Metro-North. The place is filled with a lot of “real railroaders” who are great to work with. And my small but dedicated staff—the people who write those seat notices, web/email alerts, other employee/customer publications, as well as handle all the filming that goes around the territory—are extremely patient and forgiving.
Happy holidays to you, Jersey Jim, Straphanger Joe, & Foot It Tim… Keep up the good work.
There you have it.