Acts of Kindness

     I have a subscription to Woman;s Day magazine and they have a column named The Kindness Project which celebrates and encourages kindness in the world. I have to admit that this was one of the reasons I subscribed to the magazine. The world seems to be experiencing such darkness lately that the focus on kindness seems like  a beacon of hope .
      In the spirit of the kindness project and to tip the scales of the world toward a kinder , gentler place I will recount an act of kindness that I witnessed on the Q train in NYC this week.
     One day this week after the Q train left the Dekalb Avenue station the woman sitting across from me threw up and almost fainted. One women asked if there was a doctor or nurse on the train of which there were not. Many people offered the sick woman a plastic bag for her to throw up in , others gave her water and Kleenex. When we finally got to Canal Street someone got out of the subway car and told the conductor about the sick passenger. This is not anomaly . This happens whenever someone is sick on the subway. Even hardened New Yorkers step up when necessary. Not always, but often enough to give me hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Johnny T's Subway Tips

   This is so funny. If you live in NYC you will really relate to this and if you don't , well here's a slice of what you haven't been missing.....

As Seen on the Train

 I usually try to zone out while on the subway. There is always so much crazy there that I would rather not acknowledge.

 Every so often I do pay attention and find some really cool signs

as well as people with hokey get ups...

Eau No!

The winter usually is not too bad for as far as ridership BO. Not this winter. For some reason this past week my nose was subjected to some pungent body odor. Has it been too cold inside their homes to shower or do laundry? Last winter in NYC it was way colder but I do not recall such strong BO. I can excuse BO more during the summer because even if one bathes as soon as one goes outside one perspires and all the good  hygiene in the world does not always prevent bad BO. 

I don't like floral perfume either. I think its kind of equal to bad BO. I beseech  of you fellow subway riders please shower in the winter, please do your laundry. It will help us all have a more peaceful MTA experience.

Citizens of the Subway

yuppie child and frum child

 I love watching people on the trains. It is always fun to guess the relationships of those sitting in such close proximity to one another .
  The two little girls in yuppie child and frum child are just so cute.  I purposely cut out the parents from the photo. The kids were just so cute and just acting like kids   proving that people are people no matter where they hail from.
   The second photo was more confusing. At first glance it seemed as though this was a couple wearing blue on the train together on a random Sunday. After a closer look I am not sure that they even know each other's names.
   

are they together or just sitting beside each other?

As we approach the last photo I posted called together , we see that though there are so many disconnected people on the train  there still are some who 

ride with their friends  and it is apparent that they indeed are friends. It is so refreshing.

 When I first moved to New York I used to people watch
constantly. After awhile I got caught in my own
bubble and started looking inward instead of outward on the trains. Sometimes that
has been to my advantage. Sometimes there is
just too much weirdness on the trains that it is better to
be engrossed in a novel or a song on my ipod.
     Lately I have been paying more attention
to my surroundings and noticing the photo opportunities on
the subways. Now that I have an iPhone it is a lot easier
to secretly snap a photo. I feel like there really is a softer
side to New York City that I had not noticed until I
began photographing random individuals. It has been a
nice surprise.

together 

Subways Underwater due to Sandy - New York Post

  This is pretty creepy.