NYC Subway Stories
1
Next to me is sitting a skinny girl, who is reading the Forbes article “30 UNDER 30”. Next to her is sitting a smiley guy, who is reading a book “The Wisdom of Psychopaths”. I have in my hands a new issue of “Fast company” magazine. Suddenly the guy interrupts from reading and asks the girl: “You are not in this list, are you?”. The girl smiles: — “Actually, I am.” I overheard that she and her friend founded a company which manufactures ballet shoes on-demand in Spain (they ship a measuring kit if you’re going to order those shoes online). As I listen to her, I’m thinking about customization, that gets huge as a trend. A bit later I got to know that the smiley guy happened to be a rabbi, who is specialized on Exotic Jewish history. He told me about his experiment in Eyup, the most Islamic neighborhood of Istanbul, where he was walking around with a kipa on his head. Of course, nothing bad happened there. The most dangerous guys advised him to be careful and not to go further the next block. Well, a similar situation happened to me in Brooklyn once (no kipa involved).
2
We were on our way home late. There were just a few people in the subway car. A black woman entered our car and I don’t remember where exactly it happened but it was definitely in Manhattan. She carried a heavy bag in one hand and a cup of soup in other. She put the bag on the floor and leaned herself against handrails. She had late dinner. Nothing unusual with the exception of the fact that she was talking to her cup. She even kissed it a few times being 100% satisfied with the taste of the soup. Finished eating, the woman grabbed her bag and sat down on the nearest bench. Later she suddenly stood up and began pulling down her jeans and underwear (this moment we replaced ourselves to the furthest corner of the subway car). She took a piss in a cup, then poured it on the platform and sat back down. The woman didn’t seem to be drunk or crazy. She is New York.
3
The brunette in front of me is smiling while reading a thick hardcover book “I Love Dick”. There are many bookmarks in her book. There are many thoughts in my head.
