Monday, April 13, 2009

Subways and the Kindness of New Yorkers

Well…as you know, I spent last Friday in the Big Apple.

However, this time the only difference was that instead of driving in with my boss, I went alone and took public transportation.

Which meant that I had to take two trains and then a subway.

Luckily, all my connections were on time, so it went very smoothly. The only catch, was that once I actually got into the city, I wanted to save the company some money by using the subway rather than taking a cab.

Now if anyone here has ever experienced the NYC subway system, you also know that it’s mind-blowing. It’s an underground world of tunnels and trains that conveniently gets you anywhere in the city.



But it can be very intimidating because it’s MASSIVE, and everyone is running around like a colony of ants, scurrying in million different directions; in a hurry to get where they need to be - FAST.

So when I got underground, I had no idea where the hell I was going or what I was doing. I only knew that I had to take the E train.

First of all I didn’t have any subway tokens. And unlike Philadelphia’s subway system, you have to use a machine to get your tokens instead of getting them from a person sitting in a booth. Well…I had no idea how to use the damn machines because they were utterly confusing (they looked like a cross between a casino slot machine and a Nintendo game). So I looked around at everyone with a sheepish look on my face, like to say, “Can someone please help me?!” And just then, a woman smiled and walked over; showing me step by step how to use it. She was so patient and kind, that I wanted to grab her face and plant a “wet one” on her kisser, but instead I just thanked her profusely.

Once I got on the train (which by the way, was packed like a can of sardines) I had a moment of panic because I thought I might be on the wrong one. So I decided to ask a woman who was sitting with her daughter, if the train was going to 5th Avenue. And not only did she tell me that I was on the right train, but she also instructed me how to get out of the subway and get back to the street level, once I got there. We chatted the whole rest of the ride.

Now that was TWO people who went out of their way to help me that day.

So why New Yorkers always get a rap for being rude and uncaring…I’ll never know.

In fact, since I’ve been spending the past three weeks in New York, I’ve had nothing but kindness shown to me.

Whenever I’ve smiled and said “Hello” to someone on the street, they’ve always made eye contact, smiled, and said “Hello” back.

And whenever I’ve needed assistance, they’ve reached out and helped.

Yes…New Yorkers move fast.

Yes…New York can be big and intimidating.

But deep within it…also lies a BIG and KIND heart!