the MTA is evil.
Not really. You're a recent transplant here as are most folks that live here. Being born and raised here, the MTA has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and if you think it's so bad now, you should've seen what it used to be like back in the day before all the "nice" upgraded stations and trains.
A clean train? Heat and A/C? Seat without splinters? Something to hang onto if you didn't have a seat? Frequent trains running 24/7? Working lights? A station or train that
doesn't reek of garbage, urine and or fecal matter? An air of safety and or security no matter no small? Ceiling and floors that don't leak a mystery fluid? Garbage cans? Back then? Not bloody likely.
Being the wild kid that I was back then, my parents like most parents back then preferred that I be out of the house in my free time. Left to run wild in the streets, my friends and I would go play on the subway platforms and tracks just to see what kind of trouble we can get into - and we managed to get into A LOT of trouble. The kids from my block never got along with the kids from other blocks and for whatever reason, the fights would always take place on the train either going to or leaving school. And that's if we even bothered going to school. A lot of time was spent trying to get famous by being "All city" like the older kids did and I have fond memories of breaking into the train yards.
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NYC's MTA may not be the cleanest/fastest/most reliable in the world but you know what? It moves a shit ton of people everyday, most of the time w/o a problem. Yeah it sucks to have to rely on it everyday but it's part of the price one has to pay in order to live in this dump. It's a part of the way of life here.
Where else can you get on a train and meet the latest lady of your dreams while running into old friends that you haven't seen in 10 years then decide to change up the day by suggesting that everyone jump on another train and head out to Coney for a few of Nathan's Famous, then on the way home you notice that you're hearing at least 6 different languages that you've never heard before and it makes you proud to be a NY'er, then you give up your seat for the little old lady that just got on the train which makes you feel like a decent person. When you reach your stop and make your way to the stairs, you stop to listen/watch the kids banging out some ferocious beats on their 5 gallon paint pails and the next thing you know, you're dancing on the platform with the next cutie that just happened to be there watching too. After the "show" you ask cutie where she lives and all she answers is "uptown". Word? Next thing you know you're on the 1 train heading to Dyckman to take homegirl for a bite and a leisurely walk around the cloisters... all in all, not a bad day in NYC. If that can happen to me, it can't be all bad can it?
