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Saturday, January 7, 2012

In the Darkness, Below Ground

Subway, NYC
Photo by myself on the subway, somewhere below ground.

The lights were out in half of this subway car. Riding in the semi-darkness on the subway with strangers is not for the typical newbie. You have to be pretty comfortable with your surroundings to do this.

I have to admit I wouldn't have been able to sit here during my first year of living here. Back then, I was super-vigilant to what everyone around me was doing, convinced that certain danger was lurking just around the corner.

The city was different, back then. Cell phones hadn't been invented, the memories of crime-ridden decades were still fresh, and like most New Yorkers, I didn't know any of my neighbors. It felt as if anything could happen and no one would know about it, and that was not too settling.

Not to fear, the city is currently very, very safe.

Related posts: Quiet on the Set!, The Trains are Hopping, and The Space of Chance Encounters.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It would certainly be a little intimidating for the uninitiated!! But from all accounts NYC is one of the safest cities in the world now.

Terry at Blue Kitchen said...

For me, Kitty, the subway is one of my favorite things about the city. Partly because you can get almost anywhere in the city anytime night or day and partly because it's a great place to people watch, discreetly, of course.

Ken Mac said...

Looks like the beginning of a horror movie. The Subway Car that Ate the Village!

Thanks for that horrible link. Sigh...

Banjo52 said...

This might be my favorite subway photo of yours. Shadow and light against each other and, as I see it, three splashes of color.

Glad to hear that about NY safety. I've heard it elsewhere too.

Leif Hagen said...

Awesome photo, Kitty! It has a lot of mood and feeling!

Marcia said...

Once I learned which line to take after getting off the A train I enjoyed the experience, especially the underground station at Rockefeller Plaza.

kousuke said...

It seems too dark.
Even in Tokyo subway, which is under power saving now, passengers can read books.