In a related incident, I was on the 1 train, heading from Riverdale to Morningside Heights, sitting in a back corner near the connecting door. A tall 30-ish Black man, swaddled in a sweater as a head scarf, sat down one seat away from me. He turned to me and said, “I love your coat!” I smiled and thanked him and we got into a brief discussion of where I’d got it and the disappearing charm of little neighborhood stores. I went back to my reading.
Shortly, he started into a low rant, not really aimed at anyone but seemingly directed at the fellow on the other side of the car, who remained stoic. The fellow got off on his stop. The rant got a little louder. He turned to me and asked if I would move to the seat across the car. I must have looked surprised, because he said, “It’ll be better for you over there.”
So I moved. Went back to my reading.
The rant got really loud. Cursing ensued. He unwound his head wrap, and kept reaching into his bag to change his jacket and sweaters.
We reached my stop. I stood up as we slowed, turned to him, and said, “You take care, now.” He smiled radiantly and said, “Thank you, darlin’. You, too.”
I love this story.
In a related incident, I was on the 1 train, heading from Riverdale to Morningside Heights, sitting in a back corner near the connecting door. A tall 30-ish Black man, swaddled in a sweater as a head scarf, sat down one seat away from me. He turned to me and said, “I love your coat!” I smiled and thanked him and we got into a brief discussion of where I’d got it and the disappearing charm of little neighborhood stores. I went back to my reading.
Shortly, he started into a low rant, not really aimed at anyone but seemingly directed at the fellow on the other side of the car, who remained stoic. The fellow got off on his stop. The rant got a little louder. He turned to me and asked if I would move to the seat across the car. I must have looked surprised, because he said, “It’ll be better for you over there.”
So I moved. Went back to my reading.
The rant got really loud. Cursing ensued. He unwound his head wrap, and kept reaching into his bag to change his jacket and sweaters.
We reached my stop. I stood up as we slowed, turned to him, and said, “You take care, now.” He smiled radiantly and said, “Thank you, darlin’. You, too.”
Thank you for sharing this story. It gives one hope for humanity.
Nice catch and well said!! 👍🙏❤️