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Monday, September 12. I Just Want To Sit Down-Thank you!

Ok so.  Why is it that with so many things to be grateful for in the world, life, air, hope, job, family, food, pets, clothes, opportunity, etc, that all I wanted today was a seat on the train?  Is something wrong with me? Am I an ingrate because I wanted to sit down more than anything else in the world this morning? I mean, don't get me wrong.  When I woke up, I thanked God for everything.  I am happy to be alive.  I am happy to have the opportunity to change my mind, my destiny, and the world. ;-) But I also wanted the opportunity to sit down on the train and ride to work.  

It is not my fault that the train makes 25 stops before it gets to mine.  It is not my fault that everybody and his mama has to ride the same train at the same exact time.  It is not my fault that MTA doesn't see fit to institute more trains during rush hour.  It's not your fault if you got there and got a seat before me.  So I blame no one individual (except maybe the head of MTA, Jay Walder who came on in 2009...hmmm but it was already kind of a mess from the Lee Sander days (2007- 2009 resigned). Wait, though. Walder just resigned anyway, effective October 2011 so I guess I'll just grit my teeth and bare it until Governor Cuomo finds someone new to continue messing up the system.) I have to wonder if these guys just stay two years and then resign for some unknown reason? Hmmm... Anyway, my point is that the system is what it is and, in a city where you have to carry your entire life with you everyday in tote bags and backpacks, it would be really nice to just sit down and enjoy the ride.  I guess that's why you have run, leap, push lady making sure she gets a seat. (See previous posts.)  But who wants to offend the random public, at the expense of losing her soul, to get a seat on the subway? I'm not that desperate!

So  this morning is like any other Monday morning.  I've had about 5.5 hours of sleep. (Church went on forever the night before and the husband was so tired he snored like a freight train in my ear for the last hour...) And I find myself rushing out the door to either find a parking space (futile move) or put the car in a parking garage for the day (and worry about how to pay for it later). After the guy gives me the parking ticket, I rush the 4 blocks to the train and wait on the platform. I'm sleepy, for obvious reasons, and annoyed because I am forced to pay for parking.  But I am no fool. I would rather pay to park in Brooklyn, near my home--maybe $20, than in Manhattan where the cost would be about $100 for the day.  

A train comes. It's crowded. (BIG surprise there...) I find a spot and stand up and hold on.  I'm sleepy.  I want to sit down.  I rest my head on my shoulder look down at the floor.  I almost wish I were pregnant just so someone--usually another female--would get up and give me a seat.  Today, I am in luck.  As the train makes it's second stop, the young man seated in front of where I have been standing, rises to exit the train. I always hear the cash register "cha-ching!" sound when that happens. It's like I hit the jackpot.  Of all the things to be grateful for...the morning air, the sunshine, a car, husband, home...I am elated to get a seat on the train.  I am starting to think I should pick a student and hover over them every morning...

Lesson:  Pick a student and hover over them every morning and increase your chance of getting a seat! ;-)

A Girl Changing The World

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