This morning as I was getting on the train with a group of YMCA Summer Camp kid I felt a pang of annoyance at their loud voices and rush to take all the seats. But I reminded myself that no two days are ever the same on the subway and this was just another variation on my commute to work. Now that New York City Schools have dismissed for the summer the morning dynamics on the train have changed. During the school year I often got on the 8:00 a.m. B train and all the seats would be taken, but since I know that there are several elementary and middle schools near 86th Street I could stand next to the kids and get a seat just a few stops down the line from my station at 110th Street Cathedral Parkway. Other than that most of the commuters are office workers heading down to get off the train with me at 48-50th Street Rockefeller Center or hotel staff heading down to 42nd Street Times Square. Most teenagers are not "morning people "so they would vie for a seat and sit in silence. The elementary kids liked to stand and hold on to the pole, but tended to be very talkative. When I told Cameron about my observations her only response was, "you're rude". Hey, I didn't say that I hate kids, I was just saying that I like to sit and have some peace and quiet on my way to work in the morning.
The commute also takes a slightly less busy season from July 4th and runs through Labor Day. This missing group is not a large number of commuters, because they tend to be people who "summer" on Long Island and aren't part of the daily grind in the first place as they are more apt to take a car service or taxi to work instead of the subway anyway, but I feel like they are worth noting. I miss their beautiful suits, sleek bags, and shiny shoes (I am talking about both men and women). They tend to take the morning trains and are less visible in the evenings. In the mornings I admire their expensive clothing and haircuts, and I wonder what their lives are like inside of their high-rise apartments or magnificent brownstones. When they return in September they will be sun kissed and slim, and neither will have been gained from a long work day on the farm.
I don't know if the "manspread" is a new phenomenon or it's brought the problem to light by naming it. It's when male passengers sit down and spread their legs out so wide that he easily takes up two seat. Sometimes I think the guy is oblivious, but other times it's beyond obvious. Black women tend to be the most verbal about the situation and will tell the guy to move over to make room for her to sit. I wish I had the nerve to say something. Next group is the tourist. They tend to multiply in the summer. Within a few blocks of my apartment are two youth hostels and a few less expensive hotels that cater to European families. In the mornings these groups are neatly dressed in shorts and t-shirts with a bright variety of footwear to comfortably carry them around the city as they see the sights from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Highline. One very frustrating thing that all tourist do is somehow swipe their metro cards incorrectly so that the turnstile does not read it. Sometimes I can hear the train coming into the station and I'm stuck behind a family of five taking up all three turnstiles as they either swipe the card too quickly or too slowly and you see yourself getting downstairs just as the doors chime to a close in your face.
The "lovers" in the subway make me crazy. And strangely they tend to be morning computers. On Monday the couple was a Grizzly Adam look-a-like (which was a stand out in it's self) and a young studious looking Hispanic girl. Strange combination and their constant tickling and kissing was a bit of a spectacle at 8:10 a.m. I made the mistake of sitting next to them and I could hear them kissing and cooing through my headphones. Yesterday it was a couple that was obnoxious in how much room they were taking up. He was practically laying down stretched across two seats and she was cuddled up next to him as they giggled and smooched their way into midtown. 
My least favorite group is the group that is under the impression that the subway is a dining car. IT IS NOT! The other day I was sitting on the train on my way home and I heard what sounded like a metal utensil scrapping a metal plate. When I turned around I saw a Chinese woman feeding her sons soup. Yes, soup. They were not babies. I think maybe one was five and the other seven. After she fed them she then proceeded to finish of the soup by slurping the remains in the bowl. I had to get a photo. I knew no one would believe me otherwise. More often than not fried chicken or chicken and rice plates are brought onto the train, but this soup nonsense was a first.
Subways are freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. You usually have to fight a crush of people getting on and off the train. Sometimes it's hard to remember that we are all in this together. I make my observations and try to be sly as I take my "candid" shots to help illuminate my annoyance with a photo once I get home to vent to Cameron and Jeff. But it's all part of living in a city of 8.4 million people. Vive la difference!
