The "A" train and more

I love the subway. I love it most of all because I do not have to drive a car. I am not a very good driver. In fact, the last month that I owned a car, I dented the back fender one week after having it fixed. My brother, who was also my insurance agent told me, "Evie, you need to ride the bus."

I used to make a car payment, pay for car upkeep, gas and insurance. Now I buy an $89 unlimited ride monthly fare. With my subway card and a good pair of shoes I can go anywhere I like. It is the only thing I find less expensive living here.

The New York Subway is old, one of the oldest in the world. For this reason, it may look dingy and used in places, but if you look closely, you will notice that it is remarkable clean. Millions of people use the Subway daily and yet you seldom find trash and the cars are relatively free of graffiti. My sister remarked about the improved state of the subways since her first visits to New York in the early nineties. One of Rudy Giuliani's initiatives against crime involved getting rid of the graffiti. The solution was that the cars never went out with graffiti on them. They are always cleaned before they are put into daily use. This sort of defeats the purpose of those who paint the graffiti.

You will also find a strong police presence in the subways. Even late at night I feel secure riding the rails in part because of the police presence but also because there are so many other riders. There are many parts of town I do not go to so I can't speak for all of the city and I seldom ride the trains after midnight which may also account for my comfort using them.


My true reason for loving the subways though, is the art. At the major stations mosaics grace the tile walls. At Times Square you will find New Year's Eve revelers, around Bryant Park and the New York Public Library are hallways featuring underground labyrinths and poetry. At one stop on Lexington there are giant coffee cups and in Spanish Harlem, jazz musicians. At Delancey Street are rivers of fish and apple trees and at Penn Station are entertainers who appear to have just stepped off the stage at Madison Square Garden. My absolute favorite mosaics though are featured on the walls of the subway that access the Museum of Natural History. Whales swim in the ocean, elephants and other creatures roam the station. The layers of the Earth are featured in the depths of the undermost train walls.

The other art form in the subways are the underground musicians. Whatever your taste, you will hear it, the lone cello or saxophone, jazz, the blues, doo whap, salsa, African drums, bass, country western guitarist, or an Irish tenor all plying their trade entertaining for the cost of a subway fare and a donation. ( Which I always make). This is the Big Apple where few make it and those who are on their way up or down entertain the commuters. The quality is better than you would pay for in most cities across the country. If you ride the train for any length of time through Manhattan you will hear different music each time the car doors open or you may be serenaded right in your car by the next up and coming Grammy winner. You never know.