The Subway Bike Story
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I was on a subway in NYC headed uptown on the 1/9. I’m sitting in the back of a middle car. Can’t remember where I was going exactly. That part gets burned out of the back of your memory.
There’s an elderly man standing with his bicycle on the train right in front of the door. He’s holding it by the handlebars. Three teenagers sitting across from me snatch the bike away from him grabbing it by the back wheel. Everybody on the train starts yapping away at the teens, telling them to stop and what kind of evil they are.
I stand up and grab the bicycle by the seat post. I say nothing. I stare them down they don’t meet my gaze; they don’t let go of the back wheel. The old man remains standing but doesn’t grab the bike. It’s me vs them with the bike between us.
One stop later, the doors open. One of them tries to wrestle the bike away from me. Time is running out. People on the train are shouting, but nobody else helps. Finally, the three of them run out of the train. I have the bike. I roll it to the old man. He says thanks. I sit down.
I’m not angry at the stupid kids. I’m angry at the passengers who remained in their seats yelling, but didn’t stand up to save the man’s bike. I shouldn’t have yelled at them, but I called them cowards.
I never saw any of them before. I never saw any of them again. One of these days I’m going to get my ass kicked, but it hasn’t happened yet.
The Subway Bike Story
Courage. Foolishness my eye. I think you calculated that if the punks had had a weapon and been willing to use it, they already would have done so. I applaud.
I live in Los Angeles, CA and I used to love public transportation. Not so much anymore. Michael, your story is endemic of those (mine included) throughout the city. As a family, we used to go to the Clipper, Laker and Dodger games and just about everywhere else, using the rail and bus system. That was about 10 years ago. Too many fights and now shootings are occurring on the one system that can get you anywhere you want to be within an hour for around $5 bucks per person (talk about a gas saver, today!) It was clean (mostly) and safe, (mostly).
Now, I would forbid any family members to take the train, unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary--like as if I was dying or something. I applaud your gallantry for standing up to those punks. But what if one of them had a gun and just didn't give a damn, like much of what's happening around the country? You see my point? I am like you when I see bullies and injustice happening to another. (I dealt with a knife incident on the train and I won't go into that now). Yes, you probably never and will ever see them again. It was a "one off", it's in the ether...you can't police people anymore. There was a time when kids weren't doing that sort of thing or at least you had to go into a reaaaallly bad neighborhood to witness it. Sadly, we must put blinders on and muddle through the stupid 'ish'.
"They choppin' heads-it ain't safe no more", excerpt. Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nothing to F' Wit, by the Wu Tang Clan, 1993 RCA Records