A co-worker relocated to Riverdale over the weekend, and started his new life as a commuter today. He has the option of taking Metro-North or an express bus. Today he took the bus. I asked him how it went.

“Fun,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”

I know, weird stuff. I told him as much.

“It’s a nice spring day,” he continued. “We went by Central Park.”

Inevitably, I asked how long it took.

“An hour,” he said.

Knowing full well Paumgarten’s Law of Commuting (everyone lies), I pressed for more details.

“I left at 8:55. I got here around…5 after 10.”

I grabbed a pen. I did the math. An hour-ten.

“I, ya know, stopped for coffee,” he added.

Let’s see how long it takes for words like “fun” and “enjoyed” to slip from his descriptions of the morning commute.