Subway Chilvary

Yesterday, I was really not doing well. I'm not going to go into the gory details, but it felt like everything in my life was crumbling and I was at my breaking point. The breaking point came at 5 pm after working all day in the bitter freezing cold and going to my physical therapy appointment. Everyone I encountered seemed to give me bad news and I was just primed for a good cry. You know, one of those therapeutic cries when you lay down in your bed with your box of puffs next to you and just cry and cry till there is nothing left and then you fall asleep from the exhaustion of it all?

The problem was, I could not hold it in during my commute home and it started, of all places, ON THE SUBWAY. Yep, on the N train as it hurtled through the tunnel underneath the 59th Street bridge. Oh it wasn't an ugly cry or anything. No one even noticed it was so contained, except one guy. He was standing in the coveted doorway spot and I was leaning against the middle pole in front of him. There were no seats. I had just tilted my face toward the floor and the tears were rolling down my face quietly. I must have looked pretty pathetic because this man who stood there just a couple of feet away from me was watching and he happened to be holding a big bouquet of flowers. I honestly didn't even notice him, I was that wrapped up in my own pain. It was at that moment that something truly adorable happened. The man with the flowers leaned toward me and handed me the bouquet. It took me a moment to realize what was happening and as I did I looked up at him and smiled and thanked him and said no....no thanks but thank you so much for doing that and that the gesture was enough. We smiled at each other for a few seconds and then the train stopped and we parted.

I'm still thinking of that man today and even though I still feel pretty awful and like a lost soul, he really made me think that maybe the world isn't such a lonely place after all. Maybe there are some good things out there that are worth hanging around for and I should try to refocus my mind of the good things I see and hear on a daily basis and filter out the negative ones that are dragging me into the state I seem to be stuck in lately.

So to the guy on the N train who noticed the girl who was crying......thank you, you are a beautiful person who crossed paths with me at just the right time. Whoever ended up getting those flowers is a very lucky person.

:)

Space Invaders

If you are a woman and you have ever had to take public transportation I think you are going to relate to today's thoughts. The photos above and to the right pretty much illustrate my subway peeve. The very top photo is pretty mild too, I have seen MUCH worse.

It is called many things by many people and here are just a few terms for the offender: rod, wang, schlong, soldier,johnson, junk, weiner, willy, member, package, manhood, ding dong, dong, joystick, pecker, prick and last but not least, the correct clinical term for it would be penis.

Being a woman, I am not able to determine how much of this is a true anatomical issue and how much is just plain rudeness. Is it really impossible for a man to adjust himself so his legs aren't 4 feet apart while I hover over him with 3 shopping bags , my purse and my laptop? Does he truly need a seat and a half? I want to hear from a man who can explain this to me. Please help me understand you. If it really is a problem, I will shut up about this and accept it but part of me really wonders if this is something men could help if they wanted to.

My suspicion that this is overplayed here in my city is supported by the bottom lower photo . It is from a Japanese subway. Apparently, this is such an issue that the Japanese have tackled it as only they could, in the form of a warning sign on an actual train. If a warning exists, this would back up my belief that the men here in my city are doing this out of some selfish need to let it all hang out. This warning would also lend truth to the notion that men CAN adjust and be more gentlemanly about this whole thing.

I don't like to think the worst of people, really I don't. I do realize that men are dealing with a plethora of paraphernalia between their legs and I know it is impossible for them to sit exactly as females do. Maybe the men here are all extremely well endowed but I've dated around enough to be able to say that this is pretty unlikely. I don't have any answers here but I am putting these men on warning.........I am not going to take this anymore. The jig is up fellas. Maybe not today or tommorow but I am officially making this a personal crusade as of now. Ladies? Join me?

That's all for now :)