The Commute, Part 8

5:10, Queens Plaza: You can feel your ears plug the moment the train passes under the East River. A sucking of air, as if we’ve passed through a wormhole into another dimension. In fact, the entire character of the train has changed–gone are the tourists (other...

The Commute, Part 7

5:05, Fifth Ave – 59th Street: “DBD?” I look up. An elderly, Chinese woman is leaning over in front of me, holding an array of DVD cases which she fans out like playing cards. “DBD?” she says again. There are a few big-budget movies from last summer (“Transformers:...

The Commute, Part 6

5:00, 49th Street: A group of four girls in Fendi sunglasses and mini dresses who had just boarded at Times Square exit here. It occurs to me that the distance they had to walk – down the stairs at 42nd Street, through the cavernous, labyrinthine Times Square station,...

The Commute, Part 4

4:49, 23th Street: A twenty-something man and woman, seated across the aisle from me, proceed to have the following conversation- Girl: Who was that guy that stopped by the bar last night? Guy: Who, Marco? Girl: The guy you were talking to when Kim and I were at the...

The Commute: Part 3

4:44, 8th Street: Two young, black kids enter the train holding cardboard boxes. They’re a classic Mutt-and-Jeff pair, one tall and lanky, the other short and squat. I have trouble placing their ages, but it’s doubtful either one has reached high school yet. The tall...