Weird Day on the A

I had a doctor's appointment in Chelsea and then went to yoga in Tribeca, so I found myself on the A Train more than usual today. It appears the A has some semblance of a Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), as he's got a little earache...

... and is entirely fatigued...

There were also not one but TWO different people doing a lot of preachin' for Jesus*. Loudly. I didn't take their picture, though, because... well, they were crazy and I wouldn't have wanted to cause a scene.

* This link doesn't have much to do with my post, but I do enjoy how quickly it devolves into people bitching about the MTA, which I, myself, have been wont to do:

More Crazy Train

I've seen some real doozies while riding the subway. Yesterday, I got another one to add to the list.

I got on the F train at 42nd St and headed to Brooklyn around 3pm. There were four boys that looked around ten or twelve years old riding seemingly solo. They seemed sweet*, passing a portable video game back and forth. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Enter: homeless man in winter coat, asking for change. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He made one pass up and back down the subway car. Nothing. But nothing out of the ordinary.

He decided to take a second pass, this time goading us, the tight-fisted strangers who did not seem to be interested in donating to his cause:

Sh-eeeeeeet, if I was y'all, I'd have my hands in my pockets already. What is wrong with y'all?

This was a little out of the ordinary. Usually panhandlers plead their case in one pass, get what they can and head to the next car. This guy was hell bent on not leaving our car until someone forked over some loot.

On his next pass back down the car, he passed the young boys and as he reached a young man who was sitting near the door, he screamed:

DON'T YOU MOTHERF$@*ING TOUCH ME AGAIN! I HAVE TOLD YOU: I AM NOT GAY! F&@* $##*@! #&%@@*! ***##&@%@

This was bizarre, and everyone was staring, even though we all tried to do it subtly. The guy on the receiving end of this rage seemed entirely nonplussed, considering that attack just spat upon him.

And the young boys... well, let's just say that I have never seen four sets of eyes bulge that far out of such small faces before. They sat frozen for a moment, dumbfounded. One kid played the lookout and when the coast was clear, they all began re-enacting what had just gone down. They nailed it and were probably more interesting than the crazy guy himself!

*I say "sweet" because they were relatively quiet-- I always expect kids that age to be total loud screaming brats.

Sent from my iPhone: DUMBO Couple

First Seen: F train at 14th St
Exit: York St

Situation: hard to read. She could have been crying or merely afflicted with watery eyes. He was all angular and full of concern. There was a big kerfuffle when the seat next to her opened up and she had a 2-second stare down with an older gentleman that thought he'd sit. She was saving it for her man, so they could continue deeply staring at each other.