Still on the Subway...

The last entry was about the random art lesson. But this one is going to be mostly about the things I see on the subway ride. Or should I say, the people I see in the subway.

Some things can be funny, some things can be moving, some things make me think and reflect. (I do seem to do the last two quite often.)

We often see people selling different things on the subway ride. I remember the typical towel, drink, gum, socks, cleaning rugs or special magic brush, and even a 1000W rice cake. They usually get on the last couch and moving from one couch to another. They say their spiel upon entering the couch, move along the seats to get their possible customers to buy and exit at the other end. Sometimes, I would like to buy stuff just for them to earn something from that couch but I don't have that much money usually. Hahaha. Luckily, there would be at least one who buys from them. As I look at the buyer, I am glad to see that they are actually happy to buy whatever goods they were even though I don't think they were actually that good.

One was a magic brush/scrubber which one lady bought. It can remove dust from a carpet pretty well based from the seller's demo. I really thought nobody will actually but that. But one lady did. She looked so happy that she got the chance to buy that even telling another lady beside her what she will use it for. I could tell that other people around her was also watching her. Maybe some of them were thinking, "I should have bought one too." "You can actually buy one like that online also." "There goes an impulse buyer." " I just hope she will not regret her purchase." and other lines go on...

There were also some who are not really selling anything. There was a preacher who sang some familiar tune at one point before starting his spiel, and another one, blind man I think, who played his harmonica. I heard that harmonica before I caught a glimpse of the man. P, who seldom see anyone playing a harmonica, dug through his pocket and handed over his change. It was a just a small amount from the little boy but I wonder what exactly moved him to do that.

Still on a note about another blind man navigating the subway, we also another one last time. This one is a bona fide passenger. He was wearing an light neon green shirt as he moved to another couch with the help of his walking stick. He even slightly bumped into a lady before he exited our couch because of the sudden lurch of the train. Yet, he managed to get to his target exit door.

P also saw this man and I asked him how does he think did the blind man managed to get around. The kid had no idea. I had to tell him that blind people usually are good in remembering numbers and they keep count of the steps most of the time.

This simply amazes me that a blind man can safely navigate the subway all by himself. The subway system has special amenities for the blind. Not only are the elevators have the braille, but also the sign for the rest rooms.

It goes without saying that this is indeed a better place for special people like him. 


On a lighter note, there was also another interesting situation I saw last night. It was an early evening ride that we took. There were no seats available right away so we had to stand at first when we got into the subway. I saw a young couple who seem to be sharing a secret joke. As I look around, I noticed a middle-aged woman sitting beside the couple. She was sleeping deeply, swaying her head with every move of the train, but still sleeping. She even had her bent forward and sidewards, almost leaning on the unfortunate person sitting next to her at some point. But she never stirred. She did manage to open her eyes for a few seconds in between but she still fell back to sleep again. It was almost hilarious to watch her.

When the couple stood up to prepare to get off, P grabbed the seat and tried to drag me beside him to sit next to the sleeping woman. I opted not to. I don' think I can handle a swinging head beside me. I got another seat across, then another man took the seat between P and the lady. It was an interesting sight to fill my already-tired-eyes and mind.
 
It was pretty entertaining but I also wonder what if she really sleeps like that all the time. Or may she was just very tired from work. I wonder what kind of job does she do that made her very tired and sleepy. I wonder if she'll get off at the right station. Most people had already left and the subway has finally reached its last station. We all had to get off but she was still sleeping. I just had to let P to wake her up and inform her that it's the last stop. I hope it was indeed her destination station.


I really learned the hard not fall asleep while traveling or waiting for the next ride. I almost missed a flight once because I fell asleep. Good thing that my father called my phone at the same minute that the airline staff was paging me, for the third time at that! Plus I don't want to be caught drooling while sleeping in a public place. Hahaha..