A few nights ago, I went to see Sondre Lerche play at the Bowery Ballroom in the city. I'd never been before. It's a neat little venue in downtown Manhattan, near Chinatown. While kind of bummed that he didn't go on till 10PM and my dudefriend and I had to catch a bus up at Port Authority at 11.50, I really enjoyed Mr. Lerche's music-- he's just a Norwegian guy who loves his guitar and singing.
However, that 11.50 bus has a bigger story to it. Tom and I took the bus into the city from Saddle Brook, where he lives, and got our return trip ticket upon our arrival at Port Authority, figuring on leaving the show around 11.15 to get back. We left just moments before 11.15, got to the subway station, bought new subway cards... and missed the D train by moments. Literally. Moments.
And then we waited for the next one.
And waited.
And waited.
More than 20 minutes later, another orange train heading north came, but there was no way we'd get to Penn Station, transfer to the A, C or E heading north, get to Port Authority, and get up four stories before 11.50.
We didn't get there in time. Thankfully, another bus left sort of in the same direction within half an hour, and my dear dear friend Heather was kind enough to come out and pick us up. The next morning was, after all, Tom's first day back in the classroom (he's a high school math teacher).
Why do I tell you of this mistimed journey? Well, I find that more often than not I somehow screw up leaving the city, whether it be by missing a bus, or a bus leaving early, or missing the last train... but really, it got me thinking. What about all of those stories about people who were running late to work, or whose transit was running late, or something came up that prevented them to getting to the World Trade Center 8 years ago tomorrow? Sometimes a couple of seconds is all it takes to throw you off. Tom and I sprinted up the stairs to that D train, getting to the platform just as it pulled away. How frustrating when he had to wake up and teach the next morning! And how frustrating was it for all of the people who spilled coffee on themselves and had to change, or whose cars wouldn't start, or whose kids got sick and had to stay home from school... just amazing.
I think it's important to remember the day and the people, but I also think it's really important to move forward. Life goes on. People go to work tomorrow, or people like me have the day off (don't worry, I'll be doing work, I have plenty to do for EDGY this semester, among other things), or people have birthdays (happy 25th Meggo!)... and through it all, NYC will still be there, not sleeping...
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