An old homeless man stands outside the gates to the subway with a stack, three inches thick, of discarded and dirty metro cards. He swipes every single one...waiting for a green light. Every swipe digs deeper into the grooves etched in his forehead. This is how he lives. Pinning his hope on the carelessness of those more fortunate than himself...all he wants is to get onto the trains and ride them through the night. No particular destination...possibly he will wander the cards with a cup, reciting his monologue and hoping to finally win an oscar...or at least a quarter.
Deep rumbling, high-pitched squealing, and a mid note that sounds like Marley’s chains rattling...1, 3, 5. A perfect chord rumbling through all the discord of Manhattan. Suddenly, another beast rises from the steel and grime marshes and runs along side of us. I see smeared faces racing my own reflection in the black window. Suddenly, eye contact with a stranger. For one second in both of our hectic, separate, and uniquely complex lives, you let each other in. For one second each of you is thinking of the other person without prior knowledge or basis to judge...Your train slows down as it nears the next stop and his zooms him forward to continue his life that is completely void of even one thought of you. The buzz is overwhelming. It’s amazing we trust these wild, jostling, underground snakes. A black man with blue eyes to match his shirt smiles at some inside joke. Do people wonder what my life story is? Inside the belly, we are all dual citizens of our own personal worlds, and this new 10-minute world. For one ride...we are all the same.
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