I rarely post recaps of my life anymore, but tonight demands a notation. It’s snowing in NYC—to say the least. We’re due for about two feet of snow when all is said and done, I’m sure.
Earlier tonight, it wasn’t so bad, so I decided to head out by subway to Williamsburgh via the R and G train—a rare occasion to go from Brooklyn to Brooklyn without heading into the city. I had dinner with a friend and started my trek back at about 10:30PM.
That’s when it all went to snowy hell.
After a 20 minute wait, the train finally arrived and things seemed fine. That is, until it pulled into Bergen Street where the conductor abruptly announced that this was the last stop because of a stalled train ahead. I understand that snow creates problems, but that didn’t exactly leave the people on the platform in a good spot. If trains couldn’t move to the next stop, there was literally nowhere to go, no way to transfer around the situation. In fact, there weren’t very many trains to transfer to in the other direction to go around it—at least none that went the way you were trying to go. After a half hour, I gave up and decided that I was better off making a run for it.
I had the perfect music for it, too… the Rocky Training Montage from Rocky IV. I didn’t have a big log to carry on my shoulders, though, so my backpack had to do.
I ran a mile through the unplowed streets of Carrol Gardens to the Union St R train stop—past stalled buses and abandoned cars. The snow was almost up to my knees. It was tough but so much fun. So many of our physical activities are contrived—throwing balls around with made up rules, running on treadmills that don’t take you anywhere, or climbing fake walls. There’s something to really getting out there and pushing yourself in real elements. I’ve always been a good bad weather runner. It’s exciting.
At Union St, the trains were crawling. There was another stalled trainin up at 9th avenue on the D line causing all sorts of havoc. All trains were being rerouted to the R, which wasn’t actually any more convenient for people—especially since buses weren’t really running. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to wind up sleeping it off in subway stations in Brooklyn tonight. After another hour or so, we finally made it to 59th street and I bailed. I didn’t want to get stuck in the congested tunnel they were sending all the trains to.
When I got out, there were more cars and busses stuck and the corner snow drifts were even higher. People were walking in the streets. I started running again—another mile to home.
The snow was packed up against my front door when I arrived.
I think my super spends Sundays at another building—wonder if he’s going to be stuck there tonight. I wonder if the old people in my building are going to be stuck inside tomorrow.
As soon as I got inside, I ditched everything. Surprisingly, my feet were still dry, but my pants were snowed up and frozen to a crust.
I’m sitting in my slanket now with a cup of hot chocolate, right where I should be after a long, arduous trek. I hope everyone I ran by and waited on the subways with make it home soon.