The Real Lullaby of Broadway

The IRT No. 1 train is the Broadway local in New York City. Its route runs from the southern tip of Manhattan, slicing through the Theater District, the Upper West Side and Harlem and into The Bronx. It is the train that I have to take five days a week between my home and my job.

My subway commute is a short one by New York City standards. It takes me about 40 minutes to get from my house to my desk at work, including a subway ride of about 20 minutes. This is not bad at all. In addition, my stop is the second-to-last on the line. I always get a seat right away in the morning and for at least part of the ride back home.

People with more sense, or just more fear, than I have will tell you never to close your eyes on a subway train, especially in a place like New York City. A person must always be alert, they say. You never know what will happen, or who might come over and try to pick your pocket or your purse while you are unaware. These people are probably doing the right thing by keeping their eyes open at all times on a subway. But I just can't seem to do that all the time.

At some point in my ride I just can't resist the temptation to hug my handbag close to my body (so that if anyone were dumb enough to try to take it I would snap to attention right away) and close my eyes.

It's amazing what you can hear when your eyes are closed. There is the buzz of voices from the couple in the next row of seats who are having a conversation with each other. You can't hear the words, but you can hear the soft tones and inflexions. Subway trains make all kinds of rattling and popping noises when they are moving, and these provide a counterpoint to the buzz of the voices in conversation. After the train pulls into a station and stops, and you hear the doors opening, it emits a hum while it is idling in the station. I can pick out an actual pitch, and hum along with it, under my breath.

I should be smart and stay alert, but I would miss out on all this if I did that.

On long subway rides, I have often dozed off (with my handbag hugged close, of course). Like many New Yorkers, I have developed the gift of dozing off on the subway and waking up just in time to get off at my stop. There have been a few times when I have missed my stop because of dozing off and have had to double back, but those times have been rare. I have also missed my stop a few times because of becoming engrossed in a book. I have J.K. Rowling to thank for this, among other authors. But again, this hasn't happened often.

But since I have moved to my present apartment, and my commute has become much shorter, falling asleep and becoming engrossed in a book are no longer the pitfalls they once were. So I am now free to just enjoy the real Lullaby of Broadway.