This may sound crazy but I was watching coverage of the NYC transit strike and became envious. Nothing would make me happier right now than to load up the iPod, dress in eight layers, and walk to work. In my former life, I used to walk everywhere and I miss those moments of peace and solitude -- not to mention the exercise. Here in the burbs, there are no sidewalks on the main roads. So, while I'm within walking distance of Dunkies, I'm not about to risk my life strolling down Route 123 for a large regular.
But in this case, it's not so much the walking I'd enjoy as much as the departure from the status quo. I always enjoy an unexpected escape, even in the form of inconvenience. Back in school, a snow day or a lengthy teachers' strike would send most of us into the stratosphere. But I also adored fire drills. And if we were really lucky, a bomb threat (a false alarm, of course).
It's healthy to shake up the daily routine sometimes. Around Christmastime, my thoughts often turn to my days working downtown, when a bomb threat at South Station inspired an exodus to Weggies Pub in Chinatown. My co-workers and I treated ourselves to a mid-day holiday revel -- Heinekens and Burl Ives on the crappy jukebox. However, after only 30 minutes the pub's angry and obese owner, unaccustomed to an afternoon rush, swore at us in Chinese and said "Bomb o-vah. Get out." Unlike us, he didn't like to stray from the norm.
5 comments:
It just goes to show you that drinking, a jukebox filled with cheesy music and Crab Rangoon's can make any disaster, natural or other, seem like paradise. Code Red: Any chance of getting Mai Tai's or at least Heinekens into the Homeland Security Survival Kit?
I live outside of the city (well, 50 miles north) but I know people who work there and there was this thing happening that New Yorkers are known for. Many people were banding together to share rides and taxis. I know part of it was the fact that you needed 4 people in a car to get below 96th street, but even after 9/11 New Yorkers stuck together and help everyone out. They would even help out Red Sox fans (maybe ;-)
Phil-I've always found new yorkers to be friendlier than Bostonians. Rabid Yankees fans, however, are a different story. Thanks for stopping by.
SAC - Homeland Security agrees that every Disaster Survival Kit should include copious amounts of booze, cigarettes and condoms. When you've got no electricity and no means of communicating with the outside world, what else are you supposed to do? You might also want to invest in a battery-operated blender!
KJ - I join you in my love for elementary school fire drills and opportunities to stray from the daily routine. Bomb threats to South Station were a welcome relief from the monotonous work day. The entire office would evacuate and we'd all park ourselves at Au Bon Pain across the street to enjoy an unplanned coffee break, not noticing that we were sitting only 25 yards from the building so if it were to actually blow up, we'd all be dead. Whatever. Hey, at least I got to miss that traffic meeting! And I fondly recall our mid-day trek to Weggies Pub to wait out yet another bomb threat...I think we even took pictures! Maybe our impromptu photo shoot was one reason why our not-so-friendly bartender wanted us out. That, and he just didn't have an appreciation for the unexpected.
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