It’s SHOWTIME!
Only on the New York City subway
Another fond visit to a past when people mindlessly crammed themselves into subway cars, no one even thought about wearing masks, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between performers and panhandlers. This was what it used to be like on the New York City subway. (Updated November 20, 2020)
The door at the end of the car opens and here it comes. You know what’s coming because you’ve heard it at least six times on this trip home today.
Excuse me, ladies and gennelmen…
On any given day on the New York City subway, there’s a continuous parade of panhandlers and performers. You hear the above and it’s either time to scrounge around for some spare change or get the hell out of the way.
And some of our panhandlers are impressively creative. In fact, sometimes the panhandlers are the performers. For example, there are the three old black guys doing doo-wop from car to car with a crumpled up paper bag and they’re good. They are not to be confused with the other three old black guys, often going the other way, who sing amazing gospel songs in perfect harmony.
There used to be a stoic, silent guy who sturdily worked his way up and down the car, handing out carefully printed pieces of paper saying he’s deaf and…
