Met my love on the N Train (Kings Highway stop) and still blissfully married for over 34 yrs.
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Cute idea for a story but myopic. Would have appreciated a more diverse range of stories...ages, orientations, presumably race. I come to expect more from the NYTimes.
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This made my day. Thank you for finding and publishing these charming stories!
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This very much reminded me of a new musical we saw a few weeks ago at Circle in the Square called In Transit. The romance takes place via the subway (as do all of the relationships). It was completely charming and I plan on going back to see it again from another vantage point as it's almost fully in the round. Highly recommend it if you're looking for something funny, fresh and heartwarming to spend your entertainment dollars on.
Thanks to all the contributors, published or unpublished. They were great reading and brought tears to my eyes, over the sheer randomness of the good and personal events that can happen in NYC.
To misquote from one of those 60s TV shows: there are 8 million stories in the naked city. And these have been some of them.
To misquote from one of those 60s TV shows: there are 8 million stories in the naked city. And these have been some of them.
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Re the High Line:
'There are also no areas for open play, and a long list of posted rules: No “throwing objects” (including, say, a ball), no rollerblades, bikes, or skateboards. It stands to reason that the park would need to prohibit these activities within its narrow confines, but research shows that these kinds of common recreations draw people of color in particular to parks.'
What was rehabilitated was an unused elevated train track. It is not suitable for sports. At least that's acknowledged. People of color are, you know, just as capable of strolling along a flower-lined path and looking at lovely colors, the river, and the buildings above as anyone else. Aren't we a little sick of stereotyping?
Most New Yorkers do not have ball fields within easy reach. And should they? Better to have libraries, Entire meadows in Prospect Park have been given over to sports teams, whether by design or by default, and afternoon strolls along nearby paths are punctuated by yells and curses when balls are thrown, kicked, caught, and/or missed.
Enough.
'There are also no areas for open play, and a long list of posted rules: No “throwing objects” (including, say, a ball), no rollerblades, bikes, or skateboards. It stands to reason that the park would need to prohibit these activities within its narrow confines, but research shows that these kinds of common recreations draw people of color in particular to parks.'
What was rehabilitated was an unused elevated train track. It is not suitable for sports. At least that's acknowledged. People of color are, you know, just as capable of strolling along a flower-lined path and looking at lovely colors, the river, and the buildings above as anyone else. Aren't we a little sick of stereotyping?
Most New Yorkers do not have ball fields within easy reach. And should they? Better to have libraries, Entire meadows in Prospect Park have been given over to sports teams, whether by design or by default, and afternoon strolls along nearby paths are punctuated by yells and curses when balls are thrown, kicked, caught, and/or missed.
Enough.
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This Seattle-born native met his Brooklyn-born sweetheart here in High School way out in Seattle, WA where her family had moved. We're still celebrating P&J-
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Met my husband in Brooklyn on the C train one evening in October 1998. Didn't really see him on the train but we exited at the same stop. He approached me and said that I had an exquisite face and then disappeared into the dusk. He had a beautiful accent and diction and for some reason, I remembered his fashionable shoes. I told a friend that I met my husband but he disappeared. Looked for him again on the train for the next two months but never saw him. Then, as fate would have it, a handsome man introduced himself to me at an art show. We talked and before leaving he gave me his card. When I saw the 718 area code, I exclaimed it was him. We remembered the evening, but didn't recognize each other in the different setting. We married in October of 1999.
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Alan Goldfarb, Marin County is lucky to have you!
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Alexandra and all the people at N.Y. Today do their best to lighten the day.
They are pretty successful at it. I like the hair warnings.
Going to be a frizzy day or as most of us call it - a hat day.
But no matter how hard they try just can't win over some people.
Yes, today's story is about heterosexual people.
So what?
I am guessing the gay community enjoyed these stories too.
They are pretty successful at it. I like the hair warnings.
Going to be a frizzy day or as most of us call it - a hat day.
But no matter how hard they try just can't win over some people.
Yes, today's story is about heterosexual people.
So what?
I am guessing the gay community enjoyed these stories too.
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Great stories. My wife and I met on the L train platform, Bedford stop, 2001. We both attended the University of Michigan and graduated the same year but we didn't know each other while at school. She looked familiar to me and we must have seen each other around campus or at parties. In 2004, we travelled back to Brooklyn from Chicago and I proposed to her on that same platform. Happy Valentine's Day Tre, I'm grateful that you are the love of my life.
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These stories brightened my day. They also illustrate, as others have said, the wisdom of keeping your eyes open and your phone closed when looking for love, even on the subway.
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"Perhaps the guy manspreading into your personal space like an amoeba is simply trying to flirt."
Please do not joke about gross, anti-social, anti-woman behavior. A few weeks ago, I was on the subway with my sister and a large, youngish man wearing a Fed Ex jacket was taking up 2 1/2 seats. (Although fat, he did not require that much space.)
I politely asked him to make room so I could sit down. With a defiant grin, he said "No." If I'd been able to discreetly take a photo of him -- I was afraid to simply stand in front and shoot -- I'd have sent it to Fed Ex.
Please do not joke about gross, anti-social, anti-woman behavior. A few weeks ago, I was on the subway with my sister and a large, youngish man wearing a Fed Ex jacket was taking up 2 1/2 seats. (Although fat, he did not require that much space.)
I politely asked him to make room so I could sit down. With a defiant grin, he said "No." If I'd been able to discreetly take a photo of him -- I was afraid to simply stand in front and shoot -- I'd have sent it to Fed Ex.
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You should have definitely taken that picture and with a defiant grin had him fired. We women worry about being discreet too much!
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Grizzlies bare Nets
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These stories are sweet, but you lost me at...
"Perhaps the guy manspreading into your personal space like an amoeba is simply trying to flirt. Or maybe the lady meditating in the corner of your car is actually trying to get your attention."
Can't a woman ride the train without the NYT suggesting she isn't entitled to her personal space and privacy?
"Perhaps the guy manspreading into your personal space like an amoeba is simply trying to flirt. Or maybe the lady meditating in the corner of your car is actually trying to get your attention."
Can't a woman ride the train without the NYT suggesting she isn't entitled to her personal space and privacy?
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I completely agree, see my comment. At best, it's a complete lack of regard for other people, at worst, aggression against women.
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I met my husband on the F Train 58 years ago. What made it noteworthy, and made the word "fate" so important in our lives, was the fact that although we saw each other every day for 3 months, we spoke for the first time on the last day of my summer job. After that I would no longer be riding the train. We've been happily married for 56 years!
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I enjoyed reading this heartwarming article this morning. However, I did notice that these stories are limited to heterosexual couples which feels like a significant oversight.
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If you have a story, post it right here in the comments like others have.
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Met my husband on the crosstown Bus Stop at 67th Street near Hunter College in 1980. Best phone call I ever made the day after I met him. After telling a joke to which I chuckled, He invited me to join him and two fellow China Institute cooking school classmates for coffee. I declined. The rest of the story is happy history.
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VALENTINE ALTERNATIVES
You may write that your love was ordained long ago
And predicted on high by the oracle at Delphi
Or compose a sweet ballad that sings of your joy,
But whatever you do, don't you send her a selfie.
You may write that your love was ordained long ago
And predicted on high by the oracle at Delphi
Or compose a sweet ballad that sings of your joy,
But whatever you do, don't you send her a selfie.
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isn't it funny how so many of these subway meet stories are from people 60 years of age and older, pre-online matchmaking, pre-Tinder. Can we ever go back?
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Also back before cell phones when people actually made eye contact & sometimes engaged in conversation with their fellow rider instead of being transfixed by their phone.
Le Sigh
Le Sigh
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Lez923:
I think there probably are fewer fights now that people can be mesmerized by Candy Crush.
I think there probably are fewer fights now that people can be mesmerized by Candy Crush.
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But plenty of people meet online from the safety and comfort of their living rooms these days...fair trade, no?
Beautiful stories of love. It gives me hope. Happy Valentines Day to all.
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New York was a romantic city then, not anymore I guess , most of those who found romance in the subway were kind of old/ old-ish romance. Where are the new once ? Because now it's called " hook up" , not a romance. Gone the old day . Happy v-day !
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The trick is to keep your beloved in your life if you ride the subway together after marriage. For the first four years of marriage my wife and I took the 7th Avenue IRT from Flatbush/Nostrand to Manhattan, elbowing each other and stepping on each others feet. Believe me, nothing is a bigger buzz killer each morning.
A test of true love---and still married after 49 years. Happy Valentines day everyone!
A test of true love---and still married after 49 years. Happy Valentines day everyone!
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Tune of On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe
Like a dream from some roman a clef
Romance began so cutely on the downtown F
And who knew as we rode past Broadway
That such happiness could greet ya on the M-T-A
On the subway train I often catch
My jacket and her hat made us a perfect match
When we both switched for the A at Jay
We knew happiness could greet ya on the M-T-A
Forty years have passed just like a day
We broke the rule and found some words we had to say
Took a chance and it turned out okay
Cause real happiness could greet ya
If she says I'm glad to meet ya
Real happiness could greet ya
On the cold cruel M-T-A
Like a dream from some roman a clef
Romance began so cutely on the downtown F
And who knew as we rode past Broadway
That such happiness could greet ya on the M-T-A
On the subway train I often catch
My jacket and her hat made us a perfect match
When we both switched for the A at Jay
We knew happiness could greet ya on the M-T-A
Forty years have passed just like a day
We broke the rule and found some words we had to say
Took a chance and it turned out okay
Cause real happiness could greet ya
If she says I'm glad to meet ya
Real happiness could greet ya
On the cold cruel M-T-A
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The average courtship for those who meet on an express is one year. Four years for those who meet on a local. Those who meet on a platform seldom marry. They eventually go their own way.
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Baloney.
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Real life on the subway put to Valentines here. What a great idea!
It makes our personal romantic rail fantasies more universal and hopeful. :)
Happy Valentine's Day to The NY Times staff. All of you. We heart you.
MIMA
It makes our personal romantic rail fantasies more universal and hopeful. :)
Happy Valentine's Day to The NY Times staff. All of you. We heart you.
MIMA
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