A Commuter’s Top Three
Having just found my first apartment in NYC after two and a half years of commuting from Connecticut, I am waxing a bit nostalgic about the 16 hours a week I share with the MTA Metro-North Railroad. Throughout my years on the train, friends, colleagues, clients and strangers have all commented on how exhausting the commute must be – and it has been – but there are certain aspects to the train ride that I have come to almost enjoy.
- The Ritual
There are intricacies about trains that you pick up after a few months of riding: the aisle seat in a three-seater is missing a head rest but is strategically positioned outside the frigid A/C stream; the window seats in winter are the warmest because you’re right next to the heater; train cars with bathrooms have a slightly latrine-y smell that no one wants to sit through for an hour-and-a-half. Only a commuter can understand how fulfilling it is to find the perfect seat on a given day – and the placebo calm that ensues because of it. - The People
Through my time commuting, despite a few awkward encounters with the requisite train creeps, I have learned a lot about people and the way they live. From the self-confident dad sharing a sappy phoned-in “goodnight” with his kids, to the septuagenarian sleepily editing a script for the next big Broadway hit, to the girl nervously chattering with her middle school crush, each person has taught me something about who I am or reminded me of who I once was, and it’s been infinitely more entertaining and enlightening than television. - The Time
You may be thinking, ‘Sarah, what do you mean “time”? If you weren’t on the train, you’d have even more time,’ and yes, that’s true. However, there is something freeing about being trapped in a train car for 90 minutes, because it’s almost required you do something to tap into your personal Zen. Be it reading, listening to music, watching videos or sleeping – there is little else you can do or be expected to do on a train. And that can be very relaxing.
