Coney Island N Express Train

Most of my travels around the city are spent on the N train. It's the closest to my house and it seems to stop almost anywhere I need to go, or at least get me pretty damned close. I spend my time on the train with my headphones in, scanning through songs on my IPod, and reading EBooks. I'm currently reading "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman again. It's lovely.

I am, however, a people-watcher. On a regular basis, I find myself drifting away from my book and watching. I do this more frequently during the day because I have my sunglasses on. I'm one of the obnoxious people that keeps their sunglasses on, even when the train is underground. I thought it may be cool to share a story of the people I observe.

- When I first moved to the city, I was heading to Union Square early in the afternoon one day. By this point, there weren't too many people on the train, because everyone was already at work, and it was too early for lunch break. I was only accompanied on my car by an oriental man, who was holding a conversation with his reflection in the window. I think he may have been new to the city as well, because when we crossed the bridge into Manhattan, he stared with amazement at the view. After making the trip into the city on the N train for about a week straight, you get used to the view. It's really pretty when the sun is setting and the colors are vibrant, but the buildings and the scenery don't change. Regardless, this man was in awe by it. Once the train packed up a little more, he started to talk to his phone.

- The chance of running into someone you now on the train is low. There was a girl on the train sitting across from me last night. She looked to be about my age. She was wearing a cute knit hat and laughing and singing along to her iPod to herself. We were at the DeKalb stop on the way into Brooklyn, when she was surprised to see a dear friend of hers join her car. Her friend was wearing a long black winter coat with a zipper in the back and red velcro snow boots. They were so excited, they hugged and kissed each other on the cheek and talked about how surprising it was to see each other and how they always wonder if they'll see someone they know on the train. The first girl then decided to share her delightful music with her friend. Her friend starting dancing and her rhythm matched the music I was listening to. I wondered for a few moments if we were listening to the same song.

- From time to time, you'll be met with people trying to make some money on the train. A frequent theme on the N train is candy sales. This morning, a man with a box of Skittles, Twix, and M&Ms walked up and down the train, selling candy for 2 dollars a piece. The most impressive however was probably the first candy salesman I saw on the N train. He was selling purely M&Ms, and there would be no confusing that upon seeing his outfit. Everything from his shirt, jacket, shoes, the patches on his jeans, were M&M themed. He was very enthusiastic in his sales. If I remember correctly, he had a little song to go along with his sales as well. Mike and I hope that he was making a lot of money from M&Ms.

- I stand strong behind the belief that children between the ages of 1.5 and 11 should not be allowed on the train. They are loud, annoying, hyperactive, and a general pain in the ass to everyone around them. I saw a family of 5 children all run up and down a car. I've seen a brother and sister scream to each other while sitting next to each other and playing video games. The girl sat next to her mom, and her brother continued to take up two seats, jump around, scream and through himself all over the place. I've seen kids trip over people. I've seen kids jump up on seats in between strangers and play with their toy cars on the windows. Today, there was a child who was screaming to be held, and when his dad picked him up out of his stroller (a major block and annoyance in a subway car), he jumped from dad's lap to mom's lap, and pressed the "Emergency Only" intercom, only to scream and cry in the ears of the poor conductor. Mom just kind of laughed. Dad put the kid back in his stroller and gave him a cookie in an attempt to keep him quiet. I usually come across a child that I can't stand once a day.

- There's another common theme between trips on the train. Crazy people. One that stands out was actually on the 7 train, heading back to Dario's house after Cinemondays. This was at about 3 in the morning. The only people that ride the subway at 3 in the morning are drunks, bums and crazy people. Dario was carrying Mike's roadcase, and was sitting next to a woman who had her head in between her knees (drunk). Dario stood up, walked past the woman, and stood next to Mike. The woman proceeded to scream at Dario about "being careful" and "not being a child anymore" and how he should watch where he's going. Dario didn't touch this woman. Mike watched Dario walk over to him. So we got a double hitter. This woman was drunk AND crazy. She has also provided us all with an inside joke that will live forever. Thanks lady, and don't worry, Dario will be careful for now on.