So why are people not taking advantage of these various hot spots on their way to work? I decided to find out. This morning on my way to work, I resigned myself to approach one homeless man or woman and “get my hobo mack on”. Join me won’t you?
There was a chill in the air and I was glad to duck inside the smelly sanctuary of the 86th St. subway station. The odor of warm milk and feet wafted over me like a warm blanket and I knew this was the morning I’d find love. Or would love find me?
Shoes sticking to the floor, I pressed on, down the stairs and past the newspaper hawkers into the fray of commuters. It wasn’t until I had almost reached the platform that I saw her. At first I only saw the top of her head as she was ever so gingerly leaned over a trash can, sifting through items. I do love a thrifty shopper. She discarded the unwanted trash and consolidated the coffee into one cup. Environmentally friendly also? This was too good to be true.
As she turned, her tooth sparkling in the fluorescent subway lights, I caught a look in her good eye that said, “Yes Sean, yes.” I advanced and she retreated. She advanced and I retreated. And so we danced. The age-old game of cat and mouse, fifty feet under the streets of NYC and without a care in the world.
We finally approached. I bumbled my words and said something coy like, “That’s a lovely newspaper you’re wearing.” Caught off guard, she faintly whispered back, “Change?” Oh yes woman of the subway, I can indeed make a change. A change for the better. To throw off the shackles of society and live free as you do. To laugh heartily at unseen things. To speak to unseen people. To live. To really live.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. My subway came and I was forced to flee. My own fears and insecurities got the better of me today, yet I wonder what would have been? Could we have been happy? Me with my shoes, her without. Me with my iPod, her with her shopping cart. Such polar opposites…such destined lovers.
And so, when I walk the subway platforms of NYC, I will yearn for her and that brief time we spent together that fateful February morning. That one morning when I truly had something special.
I leave it to you. This winter, when the wind whips at your face and you’re looking for a spot to get warm, take a look around. You may find exactly what you’re looking for.
Disclaimer: Please note the above was entirely fictional. The homeless are gross and should not be approached for any reason.
SC
~*~
