Several Observations As I Ride The Subway Home: Wednesday 10-3-12 - By Allan Raible

1.  I actually left work today at the time I was supposed to, rather than stay late.  Partly due to the fact that I had a weather-induced migraine that was hellbent on killing me.  Usually leaving work an hour or so later, I noticed a difference in the level of train traffic.  Interestingly, since I was not feeling my best, I closed my eyes for a few stops.  When I opened them, I discovered the car was mostly empty.  I panicked for a second.  When did I miss the evacuation?  But then once I realized nothing major had happened, I calmed down.

2. At certain stops, crossing from train to train can be tricky.  There are people dead set on knocking you over.  These are people who do not wait for the other people to exit out of the subway car before shouldering their way in.  Rudeness. Even worse, is when you are trying to cross to a train and as you are crossing, trying to reach your goal before the doors close, people are coming in both intersecting directions towards you.  If everyone is in a hurry and everyone is oblivious to each other's movement, it's a real recipe for disaster.

3. There's a woman on the train reading Nylon magazine with the kind of stern, calculated focus economists would reserve for Adam Smith texts.

4.  Truth be told, I'm feeling pretty crappy as I wander out into the murky, foggy night.  As I go down the street, a cop-car passes, flashing its lights.  I cannot figure out why.  But because I'm not feeling well and perhaps due to the flashing, I trip on the sidewalk.  My glasses fall off of my face and I'm on the sidewalk, stunned.  No one pays attention, with the exception of an older guy who kind of glares at me with his mouth hanging open.  I pick myself up and declare, "I'm OK."  He doesn't even nod.  He continues to look at me with disdain and I continue my walk home.