Last night on my way home, I was comfortably seated on the F train, reading a Sandman comic. It had been a fairly long day, and I had a 6 pm meeting, so it was around 7:30 p.m., at the 57th street stop, when the conductor announced that the train was being taken out of service and that we would have to exit the train and wait for the next one.
Not the end of the world, but annoying.
So we all got out of the train, and since it’s the second to last stop in Manhattan, it was crowded, whLast night on my way home, I was comfortably seated on the F train, reading a Sandman comic. It had been a fairly long day, and I had a 6 pm meeting, so it was around 7:30 p.m., at the 57th street stop, when the conductor announced that the train was being taken out of service and that we would have to exit the train and wait for the next one.
Not the end of the world, but annoying.
So we all got out of the train, and since it’s the second to last stop in Manhattan, it was crowded, which was now the case on the platform.
By the time the next train came by–the next crowded train–it was quite clear I wasn’t getting a seat. Thing is, for me, getting a seat is more than a matter of comfort. It’s a matter of pain. I have a bad back. I hurt it about five years ago, and if I have to stand up for too long, my lower back starts to throb and tighten up, and then I’m in considerable discomfort, which can last for hours. But I make due.
Once on the train, standing up, I went back to my comic as the we rumbled along underground, hoping that a seat would open up at one of the next stops. And with one stop to go, that’s exactly what happened. Except that a woman was on the other side of me, also eying the seat. And this is where my dilemma kicks in.
I try to be courteous and polite. If I see an old man or woman, I’ll give up my seat. Same for pregnant women or anyone disabled. But other than that, I have to consider the pain I’ll be in if I give up my seat against my desire to be a nice guy. So in this case I let the woman, who seemed nice enough, have the seat, which she accepted graciously. And for the next few minutes or so, I stood up, my back barking a little bit. It wasn’t the end of the world.
Now, I don’t know if this is sexist, chivalrous or something else entirely, but if it hadn’t been a woman eying the seat, I would have taken it without hesitation. I would have pounced on it.
I run into this situation now and again, and it’s always a situational call. I don’t know if I’m always making the right decision, but I try. So if you see me standing up on the subway, struggling, like I’m not quite sure what to do, it’s because my back is in pain, and I’m trying to make the best of it.
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/11/07 21:12
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/11/07 21:13
