Can we hope that young women -- if we ascribe to them virtues lacking in men, which I do not -- will join the New York Stock Exchange instead of staring antagonistically at it, arms akimbo?
And can we remember that Dr. Sims actually cured these women's fistulas, when they were outcasts among their own because they were leaking urine incessantly?
For heaven's sake, is there no moderation, no sense of history anymore?
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I really hope Mr. Eng prioritizes on finding ways to remove standing room only situations that many, like myself, have to endure on a daily basis. It isn't pleasant at all to have to stand on a crowded train car for 30+ mins. Unfortunately many of us of no other method of travel and are forced to ride the LIRR.
Shakespeare dug it:
O, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day.
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LIRR COMPULSIVE
Heather rides the train to work
Every day, always hyper,
Baby Joseph's in her lap,
And at Jamaica--change his diaper!
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DAVID BOWIE UPGRADED
Bowie fans are in a state of elation--
A star of stage, screen and subway station.
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Sorry. But not everyone is "steamed" -- I for one, happen to like this cool and rainy weather. Perhaps because of my Northern European upbringing where these kinds of temps are not all that uncommon at this time of year.
In any case, there's a common saying in Germany about this month: "APRIL, APRIL DER MACHT WAS ER WILL."
Which translated basically says: April, April does what it wants to.
So, keep those snow boots and the sandals handy...that is, if you want to.
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I love that saying. I wonder it that thought inspired one of my favorite (though retro) lyrics in “Funny Girl,” from “The Most Beautiful Bride in the World.”
"The springtime bride is starry eyed, as poets often say
No other bride would dare to dream the dreams that April may."
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And I love the lyrics you come up with, Freddie! ...
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I agree N Smith. Not everyone is upset about the April weather. I like it! And I’m a native New Yorker.
II well remember riding the LIRR when I was a child in early 1940s, from Freeport to NYC. Now my NYC cousin vacations at Montauk . She says she wouldn't set foot on the LIRR because it is totally undependable and often requires other arrangements mid-trip. Get your game on, LIRR.
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Mostly a downbeat “In the News” day. Thanks for easing us into it with some transit hope, and then top-notch (real good groaners!) humor in the forecast.
Tune of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” [a short version]
Pardon me, Prez, tell us your first important issue
“Riders all hate
Folks who won’t talk to them straight.”
Everyone says, that sanitation’s a big issue.
“That’s what I’ve heard
Then crowds and schedule are third.”
(various riders)
My train to Pennsylvania Station always gets me in late
Then when I complain they start increasing the rate.
Service seems to worsen
Riders do more cursin’
Hope it all gets better with a new top person.
Worst part of my working day’s the L.I.R.R.
But they make it harder to commute here by car.
So we have no choice here
Nice to have a voice here.
Real good chattin’, this feels great so far.
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The fundamental problem with the LIRR is that there is no practical alternative for traveling between LI and Jamaica/Penn. So no matter how fed up you are with all the issues mentioned here there's not much you can do.
And it's even harder to accept when you've used public transportation in other countries and you've seen that it can be done better.
But if you have to get from, say, Wantagh to your job in Manhattan, you're stuck with the LIRR and they know it.
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"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."
Sorry to be so cynical, but communication, cleanliness, and on-time performance issues have bedeviled the LIRR for years, and it all just seems to be getting worse. Saturday night, I took the 10:55pm from Penn to Babylon. It was one of the old trains with seats held together with duct tape. The train was crowded, the car smelled like a sewer, and the train arrived in Babylon about 20 minutes late (no explanation given). Also, on Friday night, a friend of mine took the train from Kings Park to Penn to see the Billy Joel concert. The train arrived an hour late.
I gave up commuting into Manhattan years ago. The stress and expense were not worth it.
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Cleanliness starts and ends with LIRR commuters. To ignore that is insane.
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Nothing says "welcome to the LIRR" better than a discarded newspaper and an empty tall-boy beer can in a paper bag at your seat.
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I love the interview with the new LIRR head. But why put a photo of a murdering nanny in New York Today?
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Because it's news. The Times recently revived a weekly feature that collects good news pieces. Maybe you should bookmark that.
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Hi Anita,
I, too, love the interview with Phillip Eng, as- more than ever- LIRR service is a timely and critical topic.
Regarding the photo of the murderous "nanny", I agree: it is nightmarish and noir, especially first thing in the morning. But "Lifelong Reader" is right: the trial and verdict are essential NYC news, and for the past 5 years, that whole case has consumed our city, maybe even our country. And of course, the mission of this column is stated in its title, "New York Today"...
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To echo those answers: The balancing of tragic to comic and many gradations between has been one of the unusual glories of “New York Today” since its conception; then Tatiana Schlossberg and Noah Remnick honed it so beautifully for a while; and for the past two-plus years, Alex and Jonathan have found new dimension to it that balances their own interests and gifts with fascinating takes on what was going on that day. (We have to assume there’s also an editor’s desk and people that identify and collect the listing information somewhere in there, so many kudos to them, too!)
Experiencing emotional highs and lows in one place, even within the sections, or sections next to each other, is part of it. It’s somehow consistent in a way that's morning-friendly, yet always different and surprising.
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