Well, I guess this is the first stop.

Public transportation.

To some, this phrase conjures up the image of the common man, shoved alongside hundreds of other down-on-their-luck folk, all exhausted from [enter your choice of gripe here], shuffling their way onto a crowded subway/train/bus that has already broken down twice today and will (of course) be delayed by at least another twenty minutes. These people squeeze together, their bodies pulsing into one other with each sudden turn, hands groping awkwardly (or sometimes hopefully, depending on what they're groping for) to reach a free handle or pole.

Somewhere amidst the mass, a mariachi band has set up and is playing lively, loudly, annoyingly. A homeless man or two wander the trains, asking for a handout for their kids, themselves or (the only beg to which I respond positively) a beer. Of course, a child is screaming, certain that they will never step on steady land again. And as if this were all not bad enough, there is the God-awful, completely horrific, constantly present, sinking-into-your-clothes-as-you-stand-there factor: the smell.


Yes, to some people, this is the dreadful definition of "public transportation."

To me, it's daily life. And it is just as it sounds. Grueling and dirty.....and slightly marvelous.

Yes, marvelous. Fascinating. Intriguing. When you step onto a public transportation vehicle, you're stepping into another world - one (usually) closed in on all sides, controlled by someone you (often times) cannot see, with a crowd of people with whom you have nothing in common but your time spent together at this very moment. And if anything happens, you are in it together, swiftly united with this group of strangers. (Now, who can't tell me that that is the beginning of a great movie plot? .....and by great, I mean horrendously bad.)

But truthfully, there are thousands of fascinating, strange (and yes, sometimes disturbing) stories to be found on public transportation. Which is why I am writing this blog.

The goal? To write (nearly) daily anecdotes, thoughts, musings, limericks and such about my escapades on public transportation - specifically in the New York City area.

I'm not promising them to be funny, or thought-provoking, or even well-written (.....are you still reading?), but they will be real. And in my belief, real is way better than fiction (unless it's that story where I win the lottery, am awarded an Oscar, and crowned queen all in the same day...that's way better than real life).

So with that, tomorrow will start my first written account. Until then, I wish you transportation free of mariachi bands.