Skip to main content

The People on the Train


As the train sped through the darkened tunnel, slight glimmers of light became visible from the station ahead.  The other people on the train strained to look out of the windows.  Some people determinedly grabbed their belongings and prepared to exit at the station.  Other people just seemed overwhelmed, their eyes darting between the approaching platform and the multi-colored lines of the route map.  Looking through the car’s windows, I could see that the platform was crowded.  While some people followed the approaching train intently, others just seemed lost in their own thoughts, almost oblivious to anything - and anyone - else around them.

To my side, I could see through the plate glass partition leading to the next car.  The scene there was much as it was now in my car.  A crowd of people standing at the car’s doors, like runners on their marks, ready to make an immediate exit.  The train came to a stop and, after a brief pause, the doors parted and I was rushed onto the platform.  I was now a part of the crowd I had seen from the car’s windows just moments earlier.  Weaving through the mass of people, I worked my way as best I could through the crowd and towards a short escalator.  The escalator was just as full as the platform, with at least two people on each step.  Essentially, all I could do was find a few inches of space and stay there.

Halfway up the escalator, I was able to turn my head to survey the scene I had just left.  From this point of view, the not-so-large crowd had seemingly morphed into something entirely different.  Behind me, wherever I looked, every inch of space was occupied.  On the escalator...people.  Everywhere on the platform...people.  And, on the tracks at the edge of the platform, a train left the station, filled with...people.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Catch A Cab

We had been walking for about forty-five minutes, making our way from Manhattan’s South Street Seaport to the Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. When we were within fifteen blocks of our destination, some of my companions decided that we should complete our journey by cab. Despite my attempts to convince them to keep walking, they were insistent. The trip that ensued was a true New York experience. After a few minutes of trying, one of my companions was able to hail a cab. However, we wanted to go north. The cab that stopped was going south. It did not seem to matter, though, as my companions still got in the cab. One person sat in the front while I slipped into the backseat, between the other two. Hardly before the doors could close, the driver had fought his way into Manhattan traffic. Without warning, he took a sharp right turn onto a side street and began to head north, steadily increasing his speed. Within seconds, the cab was weaving a...
1 comment
Read more

Looking At My Luggage

More than twenty four hours had passed since I had arrived in Washington, D.C. My luggage was still nowhere to be found. Despite the promises of the airline’s agents, my missing suitcase had not yet been delivered. With no other alternative, I had spent the day touring Washington in the clothes that I had worn a day earlier. Clothes that I was still wearing. A full day had passed. My friend and I had returned to her house from dinner to find that my belongings remained missing. I promptly began calling the airline, trying to track down my baggage. The agent assured me that my luggage had been located and dropped off at my friend’s home by a delivery service the previous evening. I assured her that it had not been delivered. After more than fifteen minutes of her continued assurances, I was transferred to the delivery service. As with the airline, the delivery service assured me that my luggage had been dropped off, going so far as to give me a specific time at which i...
1 comment
Read more

Pictures From the Ledge

          It was a photo opportunity that could not be missed. Why else would I be doing this? Typically, I was a very cautious person. But, there I was, with a friend, standing in a short line waiting to have our photo taken in this precarious-looking spot. I looked around me. The view was simply stunning. I could see why this was a popular photo spot.           I was nearing the front of the line. When the people ahead of me reached the front of the line, they gave me their camera, took a few steps forward and posed. I took their picture and returned their camera to them as they passed me by. Then, it was my turn. My friend and I passed our cameras to the people behind us and took our places a few steps ahead. Separately but quickly, our photos were taken and it was the next person’s turn. Before I left, though, I could not resist taking a look at where I had been standing. I...
1 comment
Read more