More tales from the commuter front

When you keep your commuter train pass, your subway fare card, your company ID/building pass and desk keys in a separate wallet, and you leave that wallet at home, you know you’re in for a very loooong day.

Do I look old?  Or sick?  I’ve had several people offer me seats on the subway, and the other day a young man asked if I needed help carrying my briefcase down the stairs.

The most annoying thing on a crowded train is the person carrying on a 25 minute cell phone conversation ....

....or maybe the guy with the headphones playing his music so loud that everyone else around him can sing along ...

...or realizing there’s chewing gum all over your pants because some lazy slob stuck it under the seat....

When the subway train pulls into the station, and it’s so crowded you can’t get on ...Tuesday morning I had to let three trains go by, was finally able to get on the fourth train. Standing room only, of course.

If the railroad train you’re on is older than your daughter-who-lives-in-Manhattan-because-commuting-sucks, it’s no surprise when the train breaks down one station away from your destination.  I thought they took these derelicts out of service.  I had to call Drew and ask him to pick me up.

Had a meeting on Long Island last week, and told a coworker I’d pick him up at the train station on my way.  He wound up taking an Uber because the trains weren’t running — there was a broken rail.

Though I did get lucky the other morning.  As I was walking through Penn Station towards the subway, the lights flickered.  I found out later that the LIRR and NJ Transit lost power in the tunnels, and both railroads had to suspend service.  Had I been on a train, I would have been stranded.

But on a much more serious note ...

Anyone who takes the 7th Avenue subway (that would be the #2 and #3 trains) from 34th Street-Penn Station knows how horribly crowded that station can be.    And now the station is undergoing renovations, with several stairways blocked and out of service.  I’ve been saying someone could get hurt or killed ...and I was right.  Elderly couple was walking on the platform, with plans to head across 7th Avenue to shop in Macy's flagship store.   Harried commuter rushing to catch a train pushed the couple out of his way.  Elderly couple fell down, the husband hitting his head on the concrete floor.  He died about 10 days later.  Scary ...