I remember a day on the subway when I was surrounded by Tibetan monks all in their traditional costumes. I remember another time when the subway got stuck, and people inside started to complain about not going home. Then a homeless person riding in the same car started to yell: “Do you all want to go home? Guess what? I’m home, I live here!” Also, I will never forget the time I was trapped inside the train for about an hour on September 11, 2001. I remember some of the performers--singing, dancing, and doing all kinds of different things. It is also hard not to mention the people who beg for money. I have to admit some of them are quite creative. The one that I will never forget was a female midget who walked on the subway using the catchword: “CHANGE!!!” This was also the only word she said.
In the meantime, the subway was still running, and I was thinking about another interesting story that occurred on a night much like this one.
The train was not crowded, and there were plenty of available seats. There was a man in front of me, probably Eastern European, and some Spanish guys two seats from me. In the left end of the car, an old lady was talking to herself, and on the opposite side, an African American was sleeping. I noticed that the old lady was having a really substantial conversation with an imaginary friend or perhaps with only her conscience. It was really hard to know, but from what I could see and hear during a period of fifteen minutes, she expressed anger, love, doubt, sadness, and of course laughs. After the Union Square stop, more people arrived and she got a little shy, but it was only for a few minutes. Then she started the conversation again. I noticed that when the train stopped at the 28th Street, the African American was still sleeping. Maybe he was also a waiter or an actor. Who knows? Maybe he already missed his stop? Maybe not? At this very moment, two cops decided to join us on our journey. They entered the car from the left side and stayed close to the old lady. They also seemed tired, but they didn’t sit down. I guess NYC police are not allowed to. Anyway, they added some blue color to the car, but nothing really changed.
When the train reached Times Square, suddenly the faces of the two cops changed. They saw something and apparently it was a big deal. They started to come in my direction, and my heart almost got out of my mouth. They were now walking faster, and as they passed by me, I was relieved. But what did they see? They went straight into Mr. Sleeping Beauty’s direction, and as they reached him, one of the cops went to the outside and signaled the train’s conductor to not proceed. A minute later, he was back with his partner, and at that moment I was extremely curious about what could be the case. Maybe the man was sick, and they were waiting for the paramedics. As they started to examine the man, carefully moving him, I could see a red spot, nothing big but enough to catch my attention. Apparently the cops saw it too, and I could see a certain concern on their faces.
About three minutes later the train was still stuck. Now it was 3:55, and I was halfway home. Another five minutes passed quickly, and some paramedics arrived. They seemed very worried. As another ten minutes passed, the paramedics and the cops worked hard trying to resuscitate the man, but with no success. Yes, he was dead! For more than a half a hour I had been traveling along with a cadaver. It was not the first time I saw somebody dead, but I never had this kind of experience in motion. I guess the most amazing thing is that, like me, nobody even noticed his lack of life. After a while, all the passengers were asked some basic questions: Did we notice any movement of the body or did anybody see another person with the deceased? The Spanish guys could not answer all the questions, so I had to translate using my broken Spanish: “La policia queren saber se ay visto algo suspecho.” At a certain point, I saw a question mark over the head of my fellow Latino friends. I guess my translation was causing more confusion than clarification, but after few attempts, we could understand each other.
As expected, nobody saw any irregularity, but we were still trapped until they allowed the train to continue. I thought of changing trains, but at this point it would take a long time. A cab perhaps? No, it’s too expensive and plus sometimes it takes a while to get those and the drivers do not always want to leave Manhattan. So the best choice was to wait for the clearance. I finally got home around 5:30 am. I was tired and a little stressed, but I’m sure that tomorrow I’ll see or be a part of another unique story in New York City’s subway.
