Lary Bloom
Writer, Editor, Teacher
The Bloom Blog
Photo by Nancy Dionne
Monday, December 19, 2005
The People Ride In A Hole In The Ground
In a few hours, we'll know if New York's bus drivers and subway workers will go out on strike, and whether the city will be thrown into chaos.On Saturday night, however, all was well below the streets of New York, as if no threat appeared anywhere in the dark tunnels. I was struck by a few things. The first was that, on a primary subway line, there was no hint of security. This seemed odd, because it is generally accepted that the New York subway system is at the top of the terrorist list. And yet, in a way, it didn't seem odd, because of the mindset of New Yorkers, who carry on in the only way they know how -- living at a frantic and satisfying pace and paying no attention at all to the "could happen" rule, which is of course what keeps the media -- particularly news cable networks -- thriving.
A couple of images from 11 p.m., Saturday evening on the 6 line, between East 28th street and East 86th street:
A midshipman from Annapolis, coming home from a party, with his tall blonde girlfriend. He held her tightly. I imagined she is his fiancee, though there was no ring that confirmed this, and that the two of them accept uncertainty as a way of life.
And the woman in the last seat in the subway car. She was deep into her book: The Death of the Soul.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 6:01 AM
Web
Design by Arvid
Tomayko-Peters
Lary Bloom • Telephone: 860.526.2067 • Fax: 860.526.8088 • Email: