Growing up in
Long Island and now living in
New York City makes one realize how much of a world NYC is unto itself. When I was young, one thing I would always enjoy doing is coming to the city every once in a while and riding on the
subway. It made me feel tough and adventurous. Any brat from
Long Island would feel cool riding the subway and telling his friends that he stayed alive to tell about it.
The most embarassing situation I encountered on the subway was when I was about 13. Riding the 9 train from times square down to the village is pretty fun when you're with three of your friends and looking forward to seeing all the strange shops around Washington Square Park. As I decided to act like a monkey and start hanging from the strap hanging cross bar, we suddenly felt the train come to a stop while still in the middle of the track. Little did I realize that we were in the front car, and the conductor was coming out to talk to me. He wasn't too happy. As he approached me, the yelling sounded something like this:
"Is this your house? What the hell do you think you're doing on my train? If you do that again, I'll bounce your ass right out of here!!!!"
Needless to say, that was quite embarassing. My friends continue to bring up that incident in conversations about me today, even though it's more than 7 years later. The moral of the story, don't piss off the subway conductor.