Off the Beaten Subway Track
Hello my bunnies, we’ve just returned from a lovely trip to visit retired family in Naples, FL. Aside from dipping in the ocean and waiting in line for the iPhone, we kept chill: watching movies, playing games, and swimming in the pool. My mom’s backyard abuts a nature preserve where I saw 3 species of butterflies, and the wing-folding origami of their mating.
Waiting in line at an Apple store in a high-end retail mall went like so: canvas umbrellas for shade, a linen covered table offering icewater with lemon, and waitstaff from a nearby California Pizza Kitchen coming by every few minutes with a different entree or appetizer cut into pieces. I feel like I should have suffered more with my fellow humans, so I’ll be going to the DMV here in Brooklyn this week. That should balance out the cosmic scale.
My expired driver’s license sucked in the suburbs. The mental map I have of my grandparents living “close” to my parents is shredded by the traffic in between. To meet my parents at a restaurant after getting dropped off at the movies, we had to walk to another strip mall to find an ATM (some have none, because there is no foot traffic except for dislocated New Yorkers), ask a bar for the best local cab company to use, walk again to an ATM inside the Costco ("my mom belongs here, please! thanks!"), then wait 45 minutes for the cab to arrive.
I love the NYC subway system with all my heart and soul (except when I hate it with the power of a thousand suns). I love that it exists and I hope it improves. I love that Manhattan is only 3 miles wide, that its bridges have foot and bike paths.
Hearing stories of my grandparents’ experiences of New York City gives me a nice feeling of continuity with my family and city’s history: the antique subway lines they took from Westchester (Yonkers, then Katonah) to Columbia and NYU, which tunnels and road projects my grandfather worked on, and how they had to keep moving further out as their family grew. Being away renews my appreciation for this funkyTown of ours, makes me eager to explore more.
One of the most useful new apps for the iPhone is CityTransit which sells for just a few more cents than the cost of a subway ride itself. I’ve not had the Locator function work for me yet, but it gives you all the maps for the NYC Subway, LIRR, Metro North, and even the Antique Subway, as well as the detailed line routes and transfers. As the MTA papers the walls and trains with more and more advertising instead of helpful maps, it’s useful to have them in my pocket when there’s no reception, or can’t move because of rush hour crowds.
I had no intention of mentioning last, an excellent book for anyone looking to explore the wonderland which is NYC: Off the Beaten (Subway) Track, by Suzanne Reisman.
I met the interesting, virtuous, and very lively Suzanne earlier this summer, who explained to me that during the course of her work (wielding a flaming pen of justice in official ways I can’t explain) she’s become aware of many extraordinary places. Since most people are oblivious to these tiny museums and peculiar galleries, she was compelled to write this treasure of a book. Actually, I’d call the book a treasure chest: open it and dip elbow deep in shiny jewels of troll museums and antique toy collections. You could spend years, or the next 1,000 family visits checking out the obscure attractions in this collection.
Suzanne will be at BlogHer in San Fran at the end of this week (jealous!) and the book party is next month here in New York City. Check out her site for more details.
Suzanne says one of the best things about discovering these wacky places is meeting the people behind them. I say the best thing about living here in NYC is the awesome people I constantly meet, like the author herself.
Aw, I’m blushing! You give me too much credit! But thanks for mentioning the book and linking to it. I hope that people will like it, and that it will inspire them to get out and explore.
Incidentally, I feel your love-hate relationship with the subway. Every time I’m sweating on the subway platform, waiting and waiting and waiting for a freaking train to come, I curse the system. (Last night comes to mind...) Whenever I am out of town, I am sooooo grateful to live in NYC and have the wonderful subway system. I hate driving. Good luck at the DMV.
Well, I beg to differ on that “credit” issue. heehee
I want to give this book to everyone! I hope it does really well.
I completely agree with you on that last point. Ha ha ha.
Goodness, I am glad that we met.
Aw, you said it sister, I’m glad we met.
I can’t believe I forgot to tell everyone that you have a bunny.
Good people, that’s what you are.
This confirms that we must hang out sometime outside of class.
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