There is Always a Reason

This morning, like other work mornings, I left the house and went to the subway.  The subway from where I live is decidedly unpleasant.  It gives a new meaning to the word "crowded" between the hours of 7AM and 10AM.  Crowded trains are just awful - body odor, touching people you don't know, near fights, real fights, no way to read the paper, fighting for your life in a steel tube all for the reward at the end (arriving at WORK).  Blasted trains.  It's no way to start a day.

But I love NY and it's a price you pay for living here, so I suck it up.  For any of you that have experienced the 4/5/6 train - legendary in NYC for crowds during rush hour - my line, the Q, is on the fast track to rivaling the East Side train's dubious status as Most Crowded and therefore, Most Hated.

But sometimes you get lucky.  Sometimes for some reason it's not so bad...but there IS usually a reason...holiday, weather, act of God, global warming (I am now blaming most things good and bad on Global Warming, just for fun).

This morning, I watched two trains go by before getting on (the others looked like sardine cans and I did not feel like a sardine).  The third train came...crowded as usual, but there was a stroke of luck - the car that stopped in front of me had room...even SEATS!  I was thrilled to realize that the subway gods were shining on me.  The doors opened.  I got on.  The doors closed and then I heard it.  There appeared to be a gorilla on the train.  I heard muffled gorilla sounds from about ten feet away, and thus I turned to see a man impersonating a gorilla right there.  He was deep in character.  So deep, people were afraid.  The impersonation was complete with chest beating and roaring.  He was even hopping around (hence the space around him, and therefore, the space on the train). 

He stayed on the train until we got to Canal Street, at which point he gorilla'd off the train to alarm other people on the platform.

I had to laugh.  Has it come to this?  That guy was brilliant!  What a strategy, impersonate a wild animal to create space for yourself (and hey, others!) on the train at rush hour. 

Only in NY.