All Aboard

Sometimes the subway is delayed.

Sometimes you have a good train karma day.

Sometimes it's annoyingly packed, sometimes it's creepily empty.

But it is consistently CRAZY.

And I never knew I could miss crazy so much. With the A Train being shut down ala Hurricane Sandy, I found myself pining for the idiosyncrasies (idiosyncrazies?) that only a subway ride could provide.

The mariachi trio that always seems to appear at the ultimate wrong time.

There is the man in white. Always. He always wears white, down to his matching cap and umbrella. We call him "El Blanco".

The senior guy doing laps, back and forth on the platform.

There he goes - did I mention he was fast?

The questionable parenting skills displayed (yes, that's an ipod).

The glimpses of other lives, other paths.

And of course, the true crazies. Facebook status January 2012:
It wouldn't be a proper NYC welcome home without your express train deciding to go local, just in time to take on an off-key singer begging for money while leaving an unmistakeable 10 years old urine smell behind. On cue, as the beggar steps off, the once-asleep crazy dude starts screaming violently at anyone in sight. Unable to switch cars due to my 60 lb suitcase, I'm ready to be the next victim only to be surprised when instead he sits down face to face with me and logically apologizes for causing "such a racket" in front of a "young lady" such as myself and lists off the reasons why he feels the need to explode at strangers. Just when I thought I couldn't get any luckier, he gets off at my stop.

Welcome back, A Train!