The last plane out of Saigon? No, it's the NYC subway!

The way people push and shove to get onto an already-overcrowded train, you'd think their lives depended on it, like waiting a few minutes for the next train = death and destruction.

Take what I saw this morning.  The E train has its terminal at the World Trade Center.  Two tracks flank a central platform.  A downtown train pulls in, discharges a group of passengers, passengers waiting on the platform board the train, then it reverses direction and heads uptown.

As my train pulled in and discharged passengers, another train was boarding for the trip uptown.  Subway cars have double doors that meet in the middle of the door frame when closed.  Just as the doors were closing I saw a woman stick her umbrella between the closing doors.  The doors closed and she tried to pry them open. Conductor opened the door just a few inches, so she could remove the umbrella . . .and she stuck her arm in the door.

Conductor finally gave in and let her onto the train.