The 6 Train

I try to avoid the subway. I bike to and from work whenever I can or take the bus (the M15 Select is a great bus!) when it doesn't work out. 

Sometimes, I still have to get on the subway.

I was recently slightly traumatized when I had to make a last-minute sprint out of the way of a surprisingly strong pee-stream (more like an arch between two sets of seats) on a crowded rush-hour 6 train a few weeks ago. My cue to leave was when the soon-to-be streamer, an older homeless man just waking up, fumbled with his fly and stated loud and clear: A man's gotta piss!

I wasn't happy but had to get back on the 6 train a few days later. It was crowded around 1 pm at 59th street and I moved away from the seats at the front end of the car because a bunch of people stood up and I wanted to give space to those who come and those who leave. As people were exiting, I noticed this slightly older woman (maybe 65?), with long hippyish hair in a brown dress (formerly attractive, perhaps) now focusing all of her attention on the seat freeing up behind me. A moment or so later, as she stepped in with determination, I noticed a balding older guy wearing a red and black checkered jacket to my right scouting out the same seat and the one directly across and making a determined move for it. Then he noticed her out of the corner of his eye. He stepped, she stepped, they collided for just a moment and he looked her in the eyes, took both her hands, spun her around as if they were dancing and, as he let go of her hands, she landed on the seat behind me like a graceful ballerina and he gently put himself on the seat across from her.

The whole scene took just a few seconds, but I'd never seen such a thing of beauty on the subway. There was so much possibility to it all. I watched, holding my breath, what was going to happen between them. But as I was leaving at the next stop, they were both back in their respective worlds, probably just happy to be sitting on a crowded train. I'd like to imagine they traveled together long enough to look at each other once more.