There is nothing that I will scream louder at than a traffic jam. And I hate driving during rush hour in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
But I have since been humbled… to say the least. I’ve been to New York City several times. I even saw Pope John Paul II here in ’95. But never have I experienced a full-fledged rush hour at Grand Central Station when Yankee Stadium was hosting its last ever All-Star Game.
In order to get to the Bronx, I had to squeeze into the #4 express train heading Uptown and beyond… Problem was every subway car that pulled up in that dank, dark and hot hole in the ground was already brimming over with Yankee fans… along with basic New Yorkers just trying to get home.
Just by chance I was able to actually sit down inside a subway car that was literally stuffed tighter than a sardine can. It was at this moment that I started to take it all in. In NTX, we honk, scream, yell and curse each other into abandoned as we sit in the air-conditioned comfort of our over-priced automobiles.
But at no time did I hear one person on that over-stuffed train car complaining. In fact, they were all squeezing in tighter, trying to allow as many others as possible on to this blown-out sardine can.
I listened as they related stories to each other in their unmistakable New York accents about how this traffic jam was nothing compared to the last time the Yankees were in the World Series.
But again, no one was complaining or pushing or acting a fool. When we got to Yankee Stadium everyone piled out happy as clams and went about their way… Just glad to be alive and given the pleasure of watching another historic game at there beloved iconic stadium.
And believe me folks, every last seat at Yankee Stadium was filled and they all stayed until the bitter end… 15 innings and 4-and-a-half hours later. No doubt they all gutted-it-up and rode the same rails home. Again, just happy at being given the chance to enjoy America’s Past-time. (One player later said it was if “the stadium didn’t want it to end.” A new Yankee Stadium opens next season)
It all made me realize that New Yorkers are the strongest, most resilient and courageous people on earth… Considering everything they’ve been through. And its made me think that I will take that next traffic jam in-stride… realizing, in my air-conditioned comfort that I’m not bound to the discomforts of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is… Anyone who says New Yorkers are rude has never been to New York.
God bless the Big Apple and all the wonderful people who make it the greatest city on the planet.
Later
