Seven Train Madness

One of the great perks of my internship despite it being unpaid is that the hours allows me to take the train right after rush hour ends. By taking public transportation after 9am and then again after 7am guarantees me a seat on the train and in many cases, enough room for me to stretch out my legs.

But in the midst of the muggy, gloomy, rainy days of New York, there was no surprise that today was not going to be one of those stretch-my-legs-out-and-stare-at-the-ceiling type days.

Long story short, the tracks on the 7 train was going through some construction, which meant that that the usual schedule of things was all thrown out of whack and there would be an increased density in the cars. Within five minutes of the ride, the train was packed to the point where I no longer had room to read the paper, so I put it away, and thought to myself...Well I'll just squeeze myself like this for the rest of the ride.

As the train stops at the next train station, however, I look at the window and I see a group of possibly 20 people lining up for each door. And everyone in the train thinks to themselves, "There is no possible way you're fitting in here." Sure enough, five of them squeeze themselves in, and we think to ourselves, "Sorry, you others. Looks like you'll have to wait for the next one." But then, another 5 fit in, then 10, then 15, till all of the original 20 are in. And since this happens within the span of 90 seconds, another 10 has lined up and they are utterly determined to get into that train. And then do.

To the point that now I am a fetal position, forgetting about my newspaper, my bookbag or my cd player. I was just making sure that my shirt wasn't going to be ripped out. Safety at that point, was the last thing anyone of us would worry about, because we could not move anyway. All we cared for was some air.

Was the worse over? Of course not. The 7 train is not known for much, but it has been made famous by former Atlanta Braves racist closer, John Rocker, for the comments he made about no one being able to speak English on the train. Though we were all mightily offended, every New Yorker knew it was for the most part, true. At one point, many people joked that when the people on the 7 train heard this, they said, "Que?" (But it would be the same as talking about someone else's family. If you are not in that family, it does not matter how true your statements are. You just do not make them).

In any case, I am trapped with others like a can of sardines, and at that point, I see below me and someone has curry. I do not know why you bring curry on the train, but she did. And this sweet Indian woman did not understand what kind of stench she was giving to the rest of the train. So not only were we gasping for air, but we were gasping for fresh air. And in NY, we have low expectations for fresh. At that point, I was so desperate that I smelled another woman's perfume and shampoo, and pretty much breathed down her neck, literally, for the rest of the ride.

She may think I'm a pervert and a lawsuit will be coming in soon, but at this point, I just do not want to deal with anything "curry" for at least a week.