adventures in commuting
Just when I was complaining about the blandness of my daily commute, things suddenly picked up. Tuesday, during an otherwise uneventful train ride, I felt a pounding bass beat. Imagine the bass from Missy's "Pass That Dutch." Being nosy like I am, I looked up from my book and turned down the iPod. A cypher broke out in the middle of the train! It was beautiful, really. A small group of 5 or so kids, tapping out beats on the wall of the train while other kids swayed to the beat and watched avidly. & it was the start of the rush so they were kind of packed in. Still, they made space to form their little circle.
Did I mention I love Black people? This is an example of why. This is also why I essentially love the train. It is a site of such rich potential. True, there is the potential for guys that swill mouthwash and talk to the man that lives in his hand, but there are also these moments that are just so lovely as to be almost surreal. I guess a guy talking to his hand has its own surreal quality too, but that is a bird of a different feather. I must admit, I am also a little intrigued by the guy talking to his hand too.
Yesterday on the train I was distracted from my musings by periodic shouts from the back of the train. At first I thought a fight was breaking out. Again, I turned off the iPod. I like to be aware if a fight breaks out nearby, especially if it is in an enclosed space such as this. Imagine my amusement to find that someone had set up a game of three card monty! I had to laugh out loud. I didn't even know anyone still did three card monty. I mean, isn't everyone hip to that scam at this point? Still, the guy had at least a few rubes on the string and a very rapt audience.
My friend and train companion, O, always complains that I never have these adventures when we are commuting together. It is true that the most random things seem to happen when I am travelling alone, but I couldn't make this stuff up.
Did I mention I love Black people? This is an example of why. This is also why I essentially love the train. It is a site of such rich potential. True, there is the potential for guys that swill mouthwash and talk to the man that lives in his hand, but there are also these moments that are just so lovely as to be almost surreal. I guess a guy talking to his hand has its own surreal quality too, but that is a bird of a different feather. I must admit, I am also a little intrigued by the guy talking to his hand too.
Yesterday on the train I was distracted from my musings by periodic shouts from the back of the train. At first I thought a fight was breaking out. Again, I turned off the iPod. I like to be aware if a fight breaks out nearby, especially if it is in an enclosed space such as this. Imagine my amusement to find that someone had set up a game of three card monty! I had to laugh out loud. I didn't even know anyone still did three card monty. I mean, isn't everyone hip to that scam at this point? Still, the guy had at least a few rubes on the string and a very rapt audience.
My friend and train companion, O, always complains that I never have these adventures when we are commuting together. It is true that the most random things seem to happen when I am travelling alone, but I couldn't make this stuff up.