Page 33 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #4

walk at the usual pace – fast. According to the LED display, the L was to
leave in 11 minutes. Eleven became fifteen and
Three years ago we had been burned. It was I began to worry that once again the Unpre-
late – after 11:00 PM – and we were headed dictable Factor had been invoked. My foot was
back to Brooklyn to Marge's place. We de- now so bad that the dampness in my sock had
scended into the subway and waited for the Q. become wetness. I decided I needed to total-
And waited. And waited. Finally I asked some- ly block the pain. About twenty minutes later,
one when the Q would come and was told there the L began to move. It wasn't until JD and I
was no Q at nyght. So, off we went in search reached the Q platform close to another twen-
of the B. The only other way back. Except, we ty minutes later that we realized that the Q and
decided to take another train that stopped at the B had traded roles. Not that it mattered......
Flatbush Ave. The map made that stop seem, The City has her own rules and she will change
well, a few blocks from Marge's. In a driving them as she pleases whenever it suites her will.
snow, we walked for miles, finally arriving at
Marge's around 1:30 AM. Climbing the stairs from the 7th Avenue sta-
tion to Park Place was a miserable task. My
So, we had every reason to assume we would foot pained me from the ankle down now and
take the B back. After all, for the last
three years that worked well. JD and I got
to West 4th expecting the B would arrive
in a few minutes, whatever that means in
New York. Oh, in case you don't know,
there isn't a schedule. Trains and buses
arrive when they do. Randomly.

We learned some time ago that there are
tell tale signs that something is wrong
or that the Unpredictability factor has
kicked in. Like, JD and I were the only
people left on the platform at one point.
That is a dead give away. So, eventually,
we figured it out and off we went.

Except from West 4th there is no easy
way to get the Q. By now, my right calf
was knotted and my foot throbbing.
The Q doesn't stop at 14th Street so we
couldn't take the S across Manhattan.
We had to go at least to 34th. But, that
would have meant a long walk either in
the tunnel or in the street. So, we elected
to go to 42nd to catch the L. So off to 42st
we went on the A. A long walk later and
we were sitting in the L.

A child sleeps on the subway - a talent all New Yorker's cultivate.

Autumn 2013 | 33