If you really want to see America’s melting pot, then you definitely need to visit New York City. Its probably the most diverse city in America. I’m not saying it’s a perfect place to live. I’m saying that it is a city filled with people from various cultures and walks of life.
There are areas that are more fluent than others. There are areas that are more impoverished than others. Yet, all these worlds collide on the subway. It seems like taking a train nowadays is a far cry from a fair ride. During the work week, morning commuters are bogged down with the stress of getting to work on time, and often times, we find delays occurring on several subway lines during the morning.
The other day I was taking the train to work. I believe it was a Wednesday morning. There were no seats available. Across from the area upon which I stood, sat a young man in his early twenties. Finally, the train stopped at 42nd street with two more stops to go. Entering the train was a woman who must have been six months pregnant at the very least. She stood directly in front of the young man, who remained seated, that I sighted earlier in this article. Instead of getting up and offering the pregnant woman a seat, he just sat there with his eyes closed.
I wasn’t surprised when the train conductor announced that there is a ten minute delay due to a switch problem. It usually happens when I leave earlier than normal to get to work. Everything comes in time. I could see from the corner of my eye that the pregnant woman was a bit exhausted. Ten minutes later the train is moving again. One stop goes by. Now we are at the second stop and guess what? I’m ten minutes late!
Finally, I see the young man stand up and offer his seat to the pregnant woman, fifteen seconds before he gets of the train. The woman replied by offering her thanks and gratitude. Well after twenty minutes of seeing this woman standing in front of her, looking tired and exhausted, he sticks his chest out and says; “No problem.” He walks away feeling like he has done a good deed, adding the gratitude expressed by the pregnant woman to his tank of falsely accumulated good luck. He is a bastard!
There are areas that are more fluent than others. There are areas that are more impoverished than others. Yet, all these worlds collide on the subway. It seems like taking a train nowadays is a far cry from a fair ride. During the work week, morning commuters are bogged down with the stress of getting to work on time, and often times, we find delays occurring on several subway lines during the morning.
The other day I was taking the train to work. I believe it was a Wednesday morning. There were no seats available. Across from the area upon which I stood, sat a young man in his early twenties. Finally, the train stopped at 42nd street with two more stops to go. Entering the train was a woman who must have been six months pregnant at the very least. She stood directly in front of the young man, who remained seated, that I sighted earlier in this article. Instead of getting up and offering the pregnant woman a seat, he just sat there with his eyes closed.
I wasn’t surprised when the train conductor announced that there is a ten minute delay due to a switch problem. It usually happens when I leave earlier than normal to get to work. Everything comes in time. I could see from the corner of my eye that the pregnant woman was a bit exhausted. Ten minutes later the train is moving again. One stop goes by. Now we are at the second stop and guess what? I’m ten minutes late!
Finally, I see the young man stand up and offer his seat to the pregnant woman, fifteen seconds before he gets of the train. The woman replied by offering her thanks and gratitude. Well after twenty minutes of seeing this woman standing in front of her, looking tired and exhausted, he sticks his chest out and says; “No problem.” He walks away feeling like he has done a good deed, adding the gratitude expressed by the pregnant woman to his tank of falsely accumulated good luck. He is a bastard!