#RidingTheTrain

[theneverendingescape]

Coming from someone who would just ride the train drunk and high and on the verge...I honestly enjoy riding the train late at night with the mentally ill.

[authorgabrielle]

#writingthebook #ridingthetrain Last week‘s vacation https://www.instagram.com/p/CBWFqFEg1lo/?igshid=6yxkpk3z0qtp

[thingsthatwarmtheheart]

Sitting under the shade by the Zoo waiting for uncle to bring the car. We are pooped! What a day, we just rode the train. Got a bucket of popcorn too! 💕#thingsthatwarmtheheart #curlyhairedgirls #5yearolds #ridingthetrain #brackenridgepark 👡#flipflopseason 💐#sunshinyday https://www.instagram.com/p/B7CRALWAgin/?igshid=1mud05agtmf6a

[dellislove-blog]

All in all it was a successful exploration day. It was filled with the flavor of the area, good food, great company and plenty of Art. #franktravels #frankchronicles #anotherfrankinitaly #travelwithfriends #artismylife #exploration #ridingthetrain https://www.instagram.com/p/B2-JFq8Cdvy/?igshid=7xb7qvi1hcmv

[anbovo]

Day 16 for inktober. I like riding the metra because it's with a group of people who will leave you alone and you feel invisible, which is great for me. #inktober #inktober2017 #inktoberdrawing #ridingthemetra #ridingthetrain #socialinteraction #sociallyawkward #leavemealone #appreciatealonetime #drawing #draw #art #anbovo #misterbwtie #doodle #doodling #commutelife #zoningout #lookingoutthewindow

[deraywrites]

Caught up in a flash flood on my way home. 🌧⚡⛈☔ #RidingTheTrain #SoakingWet #ItsRainingItsPouring #CaughtOutThere (at New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Cp6QVnvOM/?igshid=i8h0s65v512h

[hazelmoon-angel]

My Train Of Thought

Today is a good day.

There was a woman at a stop, with yellow sunflowers on her rubber boots, they made me smile.

A man across from me with red dye in his beard, just jamming to music only he could hear. We would glance at eachother and look away until I reached my stop.

A beautiful girl I adore, who leaves coffee in the kitchen and a note on the pillow, before she catches her train.

And there will be more, good days and bad days, and those in between. Little moments to notice. Maybe there's a point to this all, I don't know, I hope so.

But we're all going somewhere, even if it's just on the train. Even it's just for today.

[alexis-peskine]

Only in N.Y. @gystere #nyc #ridingthetrain #dafuq #adrienpeskine #gygydebrooklyn https://www.instagram.com/p/BxF9boqD8W8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tgxv5blfskaj

[p3pp3rmintkid]

Rocking a pair of Nike Air Max today! #wednesday #wednesdaywisdom #shoes #sneakerhead #sneakers #ootd #shoeporn #shoegame #nike #airmax #train #subway #ridingthetrain #offtowork

[educated-hebrew]

#blackwomen #blackpeoplebelike #sistas #relationshipgoals #relationships #whitepeopleshit #whitepeoplebelike #ridingthetrain https://www.instagram.com/p/BzCMVJOhthM/?igshid=zq4j3aq76t6o

[movingoutofnewyuck]

Running Into

New York City holds 8.538 million people inside. So it’s always a wonder when you run into someone you know on the street. Seeing a familiar face unexpectedly here often feels like a mini miracle. Memories of unexpected encounters stay stuck in my memory, filed away as little moments of serendipity.

The Romantic Comedy Once I was waiting on the platform for a train, late to work, when I noticed an old boyfriend lugging a suitcase down the platform. The train was approaching the station and I was like I have a choice, I either just let this moment go, or I force something to happen. I had been curious about what this ex was up to you and not spoken to him in a bit, so I thought this was the universe telling me it was meant to be. So instead of getting in the car in front of me, I hustled and ran to the next train car where he was getting on. And then, I casually sauntered onto the train, not looking at him, waiting to see if he’d notice me. I stood across from him, pretending to be very interested in life in general and my deep thoughts I was faking, thinking, well if he doesn’t say anything to me, then that’s it, he doesn’t care. And then, immediately, he was like hey! hey Katie! Oh. And then we caught up and had a really warm chat for approximately two stops, where we both got off - him to head to another train station and me to head into work. It felt just like a romantic comedy! Until I walked to work and got let go by my bosses in a meeting. But up until then, it was JUST like Love Actually! A Love Actually where one person forces an interaction to happen!

The Celebrity Shortly before I moved to the city I was riding the train with a friend when there was a small commotion around me. I heard whispering and throat clearing. I looked up and noticed others suppressing trying to make a scene, but clearly pointing out to each other that there was in fact a celebrity on this train. At this time this person was a celebrity. And who was it riding the yellow line in Mid-Manhattan but none other than Chris Noth. I remember thinking eesh, maybe that SATC money is drying up. Anyway, he was just sitting there reading, minding his own business. When I exited the train with my friend and a few others, we erupted. This lovely, flamboyant man next to us burst into conversation and was like “Yasss, that was just MR. BIG riding our train, ladies.” I was so enraptured at the time with this magical moment. A real live celebrity on my N train. Mr. Big! I snort now thinking of this, but it was still cool. The Hookup (with his new hookup) One night I rode the train home and this annoying guy next to me kept murmuring to the girl next to him with his arm around her in this weird, drunk voice and it was really bothering me until I looked over and was like oh, I dated that guy and broke up with him because I found him super annoying. Anyway, he had a new girl with him, much younger than me. And despite me sitting directly next to him, he seemed to never notice who I was. So I just sat there listening to the annoying drunk mumble the whole ride home while she giggled. Then I got off the train and looked directly at them. He looked at me and... no recognition. Fair enough, I thought. Maybe it was cause I was wearing glasses.

Lucky Two Times A Charm This was bizarre. One time I ran into a friend on the train who I hadn’t seen in months. Then a day later I ran into him on the street, in a completely different neighborhood. Both times we were in neighborhoods that were not our usual haunts so it struck us both as completely odd. We kept laughing like how does this even happen, I haven’t seen you in 6 months? And are we like supposed to be running into each other?! It’s fate! It really did feel crazy and very New York.

The Ole ‘Pretend You Don’t See This Person’ Ah, yes. Every New Yorker’s been there. Every New Yorker. It happens on the subway, in the grocery store, on the street. There they are. It’s not even like you dislike them. It’s just you don’t want to speak to them, not in this setting. Or you had your morning commute all planned out- you had your song to listen to and your book to read and having to small talk for 45 minutes all the way to the city would ruin this for you. One of the funniest moments I experienced with this was riding a train home when I spotted a comedy person I had been working with on a sketch team and saw them see me and look away, then I watched them try so hard to not look in my direction and appear very busy for a 30 minute train ride back to Brooklyn. And by funny, I also mean that I cried about it on my walk home because I felt so ignored. But truly, in New York, we all just sort of accept it. Sometimes it is the old roommate you strongly despised, clutching the pole on your train as you sit on the subway bench with stiff shoulders and look forward defiantly like I know you see me and I see you and we co-exist and I don’t care that we’re riding this train together and share a past; we are 100% not acknowledging each other.

Out of Context You know how when you see someone outside of their usual setting in different clothes you don’t recognize them? Like seeing your teacher at a grocery store? When this happens, I feel like it’s jarring for me. A friend said hi to me while they were jogging one time and I was on the street and so confused at who they were because it was out of context of our usual hangouts that I could not figure out who they were- until it hit me. This isn’t a great story, but I felt like this category needed to have an honorable mention. Oh also one time I ran into my therapist on the train platform and I hated it. She was super nice and I couldn’t stop nervous laughing. Then she asked me how I felt about that interaction at my next session and I hated that conversation too. Holy hell, why do we need to discuss this, I thought. And now we’re re-living it? I was super chill about it.

The Intentional Run-In That Never Pans Out Then of course there are the times where you purposely try to run into someone, frequenting a hotspot in hopes of seeing a certain someone, only for the city to laugh at you, like, “you think I’m going to just give this one away? Hunny, please.” I spent one summer taking 2-3 walks a week in Prospect Park, hoping, prayingggg I would run into an ex-lover. I would walk slowly and deliberately; every runner or biker that passed me I would jerk my head to see if it was them-and it never was. Could that be them in the green windbreaker - did they get a new windbreaker? I guess they’ll buy new clothes and I’ll never know cause I’m not a part of their life anymo- oh nope, that’s not them, cool. 

If the city doesn’t want you to have it, you won’t.

[anewjourneyunfolds]

Nobody warned me that Susan was going to be hotter than me...SO I touched her and she burnt my fingers 🔥🚂 #steamtrain #reefsteamers #allaboard #choochootrain #coaltrain #summeradventures #ridingthetrain #girlonthetrain #susan #legacycollection #nearly100 #photo

[ultraman13]

#marincounty #101 #homeless #thisiswhereisleep #ridingthetrain

[lzzysfreak666-blog]

#ridingthetrain #trainride #huckleberryrailroad and #village #flint #michigan #puremichigan #family #funday #halloween #happyhalloween #boo #trickortreat (at Huckleberry Junction Playhouse Theater)

[jaymayberry]

Styling and profiling #boston #ridingthetrain #goodtimes #letsgo

[jadephotographs]

Posing in front of the train #train #rockawaybeach #ridingthetrain (at Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad)