Archive for December, 2009
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
The Season of (For)giving
It being that time of year when New Yorkers are nice and all, I sign off for the Christmas holidays with this bit of seasonal cheer from the New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary.
Dear Diary:
One night in late October, as I was riding a packed express subway on the 2 and 3 lines, a seat opened […]
No Comments » - Posted in Metropolitan Diary, Subway by TJ
Monday, December 21st, 2009
The Friendliest Guy on the 9:16
The 9:16 was pretty full this morning. I took an aisle seat in a four-seater, hoping I’d get to keep the leg room and unobstructed view for the remainder of the ride.
Alas, a young man took the seat across from me, though the two window seats were more open than Tony Gonzalez against the Jets […]
No Comments » - Posted in Pleasantville by TJ
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Nice Reader Email of the Day
From “M-J”:
I just found your site today. I’m not a huge blogging fan, but I have to give you credit for grabbing my attention. After just a day, I’m already addicted. I have so many of my own stories from my former New Haven to GC commute (now I live in Manhattan and enjoy the […]
No Comments » - Posted in A-Train, New Haven, New Haven Line by TJ
Monday, December 21st, 2009
The Great Blizzard of Late 2009: ‘I Don’t Think You’re Getting Home Tonight’
I had plans for a few pints in the city with Big Jim, in from Ireland, and the reports of a blizzard weren’t about to keep me home. I got Little G to bed on the early side and set out on foot for the 7:53 train Saturday night with the bare essentials: the day’s […]
No Comments » - Posted in Hawthorne, Little G, iPod by TJ
Monday, December 21st, 2009
6 Things That Made Me Miss the 8:43 This Morning
If any of the following six things had played out differently, I would’ve made the 8:43 instead of attemping to kill 33 minutes in “downtown” Hawthorne on a freezing morning.
In chronological order…
* Traffic at Bradhurst. A moment of indecision…Is the minivan turning left onto Broad lettting me go first? I can’t see through the briny […]
No Comments » - Posted in Hawthorne by TJ
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Steaming Mad
One of the subtle pleasures of commuting–and life, I suppose–is when a construction project finally ends and a stretch of sidewalk finally returns to its previous form, instead of the labyrinthian maze you previously had to navigate to get from A to B.
Similarly, there’s that scaffolding hovering over your office building for six months or […]
No Comments » - Posted in Grand Central by TJ
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
An Open Letter to:
The Buffalo Wing Eating Slob on the 5:46.
Sir. This is your second appearance on An Open Letter to, and that’s two too many.
Just 2 1/2 months ago, I chastised you for consuming your chicken wings with blue cheese sauce on a packed evening train in a manner that suggested it was your own private dining […]
No Comments » - Posted in Hawthorne, Open Letter by TJ
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
MetroCard Monte
There’s a fun little game me and Little Miss C play.
Little Miss C, who is 1 1/2, takes my wallet any time I leave it at a height she can reach. (Insert cheap sitcom jokes about wallet-grabbing females here.)
She likes to rearrange every last thing in the wallet: bills, credit cards, business cards, train pass, […]
4 Comments » - Posted in Grand Central, Hawthorne, Little Miss C by TJ
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
W and Z Trains One Step Closer to Extinction
The W and Z trains will go the way of automats and guys calling strangers “Mac” if planned transit cuts gain final approval. So will free transit rides for students.
The NY Times says the cuts are necessary after the MTA found a nearly $400 million revenue shortfall.
The cuts would eliminate two subway lines, create […]
No Comments » - Posted in Subway by TJ
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
An Open Letter To:
The a capella quartet on the downtown R train yesterday.
I was heading back to work after a long midtown lunch. I was out of my routine (lunch/NY Times Sports at desk) and therefore off my game a bit.
You guys–a golden-throated, if grubby bunch in your 40s and 50s–boarded the train at 34th and went straight […]