Has this ever happened to you? You’re riding the subway in New York, thrilled just to be warm and safe from the winter cold, despite that nauseating smell of vomit and old beer bottles. The train comes to a stop and you hear a young man shouting, “Ladies and Gentlemen can I have your attention…”
Everyone looks up and goes quiet. Everyone is thinking the same thing. You grab a tight hold of your purse and pull it close to your side. You think for sure, this is it… my first subway stickup, or great…another nut case. But directly after the “Ladies and Gentlemen can I have your attention…” the train starts speeding away and you hear “My friend and I are here to just provide a little entertain for ya’ll tonight…we’ve got some great moves we want to show ya’ll and at the end if you feel like you want to support us, we’ll be walking around.” Or something to that affect.
We travel on while the friends do back flips and dance moves or break out their stereos and play their CDs which they will then go on to sell to their captive audience before getting off at the next stop. Some passengers go back to their conversations, but most just smile, watch and applaud, almost laughing at the fact that for one brief moment, we all thought we were done for. Funny that something so simple can unite an entire train-car of the most diverse group of people you’ll ever see. It’s an emotional ride.
Now generally, I’ll give the performers a smile but no coin. Not because I’m a cheap-ass necessarily, but because I really don’t think taking out your wallet on a crowded subway is ever a good idea…even after such a wonderfully optimistic moment. But on the F train on the way to my friend’s house in Forest Hills last Saturday night, for the first time, I felt moved enough to give in because the “Ladies and Gentlemen can I have your attention…” came from three little boys. They couldn’t have been more than 12. They said, “…we’re not here to sell drugs or anything like that, we’re just trying to send positive messages and perform for ya’ll.” In New York, that’s one of the most inspiring lines you can hear. They smiled and cheered each other on, and it was so much more moving than any underdog story you could see on a big screen. Of course, it also makes you wonder where their parents are and what their story actually is…and if maybe one day, one of these little subway performers will grow up to be a household name.
Everyone looks up and goes quiet. Everyone is thinking the same thing. You grab a tight hold of your purse and pull it close to your side. You think for sure, this is it… my first subway stickup, or great…another nut case. But directly after the “Ladies and Gentlemen can I have your attention…” the train starts speeding away and you hear “My friend and I are here to just provide a little entertain for ya’ll tonight…we’ve got some great moves we want to show ya’ll and at the end if you feel like you want to support us, we’ll be walking around.” Or something to that affect.
We travel on while the friends do back flips and dance moves or break out their stereos and play their CDs which they will then go on to sell to their captive audience before getting off at the next stop. Some passengers go back to their conversations, but most just smile, watch and applaud, almost laughing at the fact that for one brief moment, we all thought we were done for. Funny that something so simple can unite an entire train-car of the most diverse group of people you’ll ever see. It’s an emotional ride.
Now generally, I’ll give the performers a smile but no coin. Not because I’m a cheap-ass necessarily, but because I really don’t think taking out your wallet on a crowded subway is ever a good idea…even after such a wonderfully optimistic moment. But on the F train on the way to my friend’s house in Forest Hills last Saturday night, for the first time, I felt moved enough to give in because the “Ladies and Gentlemen can I have your attention…” came from three little boys. They couldn’t have been more than 12. They said, “…we’re not here to sell drugs or anything like that, we’re just trying to send positive messages and perform for ya’ll.” In New York, that’s one of the most inspiring lines you can hear. They smiled and cheered each other on, and it was so much more moving than any underdog story you could see on a big screen. Of course, it also makes you wonder where their parents are and what their story actually is…and if maybe one day, one of these little subway performers will grow up to be a household name.
I'm usually too sleepy during a train ride to appreciate any singing or dancing (and especially not sermons). But when the E train gave me problems when going downtown and I would make that big transfer from the E to the 1/2/3, I was always happy to see the guy ballroom dancing with a life-size puppet.
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Oh man, that just totally made my day!
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