R Train Shenanigans

Hello kiddies.

I have some exciting news for you all....

Before I make the big reveal, I'll give you some background:

Today, as I was making my way downtown... walking fast, faces pass and I'm homebound (sorry I couldn't resist) from Times Square with my boyfriend - after having had a wonderful afternoon filled with Rubik's Cubes and candy at the legendary "Toys R Us" - we decided to do a bit more touristy sight seeing.

This led us to take the downtown R train home from 49th Street (a real blast from the past, seeing that it has been out of commission for months after Hurricane Sandy). All was quiet and peaceful in the world of the MTA for a couple stops, but that ended right as the doors opened at 34th Street/Herald Square.

A young man got onto the train here, introducing himself as a poet, and called for everyone's attention, addressing his captive audience, as per the usual protocol; I don't know about you, but whenever I see one of those guys, I think to myself, c'mon people, it's SO unfair of you to preach to us while we're all trapped in an aluminum box of filth.

BUT lo and behold, I'm a sucker for poetry, and so I remained tuned in. He recited a lovely urban-esque love poem, using words like "shawty" and "boo" in conjunction with allusions to classical love stories like Romeo and Juliet. It was actually impressive. So, if you're riding the R around midtown, be on the lookout for this one.

Now comes the excitement!

The 14th Street/Union Square stop rolls around, and mind you that, from my personal experience, I've realized that this station is a breeding ground for performers, both good, bad, and talentless.

At the station, three young men get on. One was in his early 20s, and the other two in their young teens years, all three dressed in athletic wear.

Next thing you know, there's a boom box blasting, and the three young men taking turns doing crazy backflips, handstands, and all kinds of acrobatics. I give these boys credit, given the fact that I can hardly even stand upright on a moving train. So that was pretty cool.

My only complaint is, again, that we're mere sitting ducks for their performances; we can't leave, we can't heckle or criticize, and we can't shut out the unnecessarily loud hip-hop music.

And of course, when we get off at City Hall, hoping for some peace of mind, there's some kind of protest going on..Go figure. But maybe there'll be some more news on what the heck was going on there. I didn't care to look.

Until next time,

-Sydney