NYC subway blues

Most days I love the NY subway. It is quick, efficient, cheap and gets you from one end of the city to the next at incredible speed. Though, the rush hour can be incredibly crowded and hot in the trains with the conductor saying constantly to move in and they can't close the doors because people are preventing the doors from shutting with their bodies or body parts. And this morning there was an "incident" (usually meaning suicide attempt) downtown so my 123 train was stopped and couldn't move. So, I walked over to another train line called the ABC and tried that and everything was good until just before Times Square when the train suddenly stopped and went black. There was a collective sigh of anxiety of what would happen next. After standing for quite awhile, it got stuffy and I was happy when someone mentioned that we should try to open the windows for air - brilliant idea! After what seemed like a long time, when it's dark with little air in a very crowded subway train in NY with your new found friends, the conductor came on to say that someone had pulled the emergency cord and they needed to find out what happened. A big sigh from everyone again, with some loud swear words, a few uptight mumurings, and a bit of laughter (this group of people near me started joking about the situation and were the best as they kept things light and not as serious for me). Then, after another long while, a woman, dressed in a suit, opened the door and asked where the conductor's box is because there was an emergency in her car. A guy had passed out walking between trains and everyone tried to bring in him with the train going but couldn't so they had to pull the emergency cord. Then there was quite chatter as people passed this message. Someone told her that the box was in the next car and as she moved past us some people asked this woman if they could help. So, I witnessed the change from a group of people mostly frustrated and anxious about being late for work, or school like me, to a tone of helpfulness and warmth. I find this amazing in a city the size of NY and with a reputation for being rude and cold at times. You never know where humanity may rear it's head at times do you? So this woman went to the conductor's box and couldn't find him so she had to go on the train speaker to tell the conductor where the emergency was and that they needed help there. So, we eventually moved and I arrived at 4th Station that is far from my school at 21st so I am heading back the other way and am now on a train the conductor said that is going to 34th. You never know if the trains are express and local and this is another challenge with the system but I'm not complaining after being trapped in the dark stuffy car for what seemed liked ages. By the way, this is all being written from my blackberry in the train, which I send to my blog. How cool, right? It gives me something to do when I am waiting for trains or in a hot, stuffy train in the dark, which I hope is not a regular thing! I went on the news websites tonight to see if there was information on either incident but there was nothing, which shows you what New Yorkers are used to on a regular basis.