Subway Vagaries

Other than the usual crowded trains that you can't enter, or turnstiles that don't work, or the poorly ill conceived architectural layout of a subway exit where you can't get out of the turnstiles or doors (I'm sure most of these are fire hazards), you don't expect some of the following situations. Please feel free to add some of your own, which I'm sure you have.

• I got on the D train while living in Bensonhurst and was on my way to work. I sat by the window in the side by side, back to back two-seaters. In a while a young Russian woman (in her 20's), who obviously felt put upon, tapped me on my shoulder and said, "Your hair is touching my shoulder." I really didn't know what response to give to that. So, I said, "I just shampooed it."

• While still living in Bensonhurst and using the D train, I got on the D (very much configured as the incident above -- a cluster of back-to-back two-seaters, with some face to face seating on each side of the train). I was sitting in the double seat. the train was packed. A woman came and sat next to me. In a while she said to me, "The air is blowing on me from the ceiling and I'm cold. Would you change your seat with me?" You can imagine the look I gave her. "Well, if I did that, then I would be cold." Then the woman asked a man to switch seats with her. He just gave her a flat out "No."
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  Well, I'm now in Astoria. I had the pleasure of our wonderful W train taking me straight to work, until it's rude removal. Now I have to deal with two trains every day in order to reach my destination. Ever since the removal of the W, life with the subways has been a misery of delayed trains and non-working trains -- both during the rush hour and late at night. How many times have I been thrown out of the train 3 or 4 stops from my destination and forced to walk through industrial sections with nothing but warehouses.

• I get on the Whitehall Station platform for the lowly R train. The ..."to be continued"