Once in a while you can do a small good deed for a stranger, and really add to your daily happiness. This morning, I woke up not feeling my best (sore throat/swollen eyelid.) This led to not the best of moods, especially since I was hauling all of my work clothing with me to work this morning.
A young man stepped up to me, and asked me if the train on the express track went to Fulton St. Even though I know the A train does, I made sure to check my phone app to be completely certain and gave him the affirmative. He thanked me and walked a ways down the platform. The next train to come in was the D train (which does NOT go to Fulton!) I saw that he was going to get on the train, so I hustled down the platform and caught him by the arm.
"Not this train," I explained. "You need to take the A train." I then walked back up the platform to my place of waiting. As the next A train pulled in, he looked to me and I gave him an affirming nod. He nodded back, and we both entered the train.
It's the sort of thing that makes you feel good! These kinds of opportunities abound in NYC, and I have always been amazed by the helpfulness of strangers in this city.
In the past I have made a few blunders, and sent people on the wrong train only realizing my folly once the doors close. As I imagine them cursing me when they make the realization that they have gone to the Bronx instead of Brooklyn, I can only be happy that in a city of so many people I will probably never run into them again.
This leads me to thinking about how different the city feels to me this time. The shiny has definitely been rubbed off, but the horrible rushed/cramped feeling that I felt before is also gone. If you had asked me if I thought I would feel so CALM here, I never would have answered positively in the past. But, here I am... CALM.
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