Unsettling subway experience.

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
1

I just moved to New York about three weeks ago. I’m livingin Jackson Heights, part of Queens, and I take the number 7 train almost every day to get to Manhattan. Until tonight, I’d never had any problems (well, other than body odor) with other passengers. But tonight…

My roommate and I were walking around the village, shopping a bit. We decided to go home around 8PM. So, it was still fairly light outside, and the car was pretty crowded. Somewhere along the line, the crowd of people thinned out, so it was only me and my roommate standing near one pole, holding on to keep our balance as the car moved. At one stop, a man came on, and from the opposite end of the car, started walking straight towards us, and grabbed onto the same pole we were holding.

He was a little too close for comfort, and his hand was clammy. I moved my hand, to give him more room, and so I wouldn’t have to be touching it. He moved his hand, so it was touching mine again. This happened about three times before I let go of the pole completely, and grabbed it again so my hand was at least a foot above his.

This whole time, I hadn’t been looking down. At the next stop, I did. The man had his penis out of his shorts, and he was holding it. I quickly looked away, turned to my roommate and whispered, “Let’s get off HERE.” (We were about six stops before ours.)

We laughed about it, but I’m actually pretty disturbed. As soon as we got home, we washed our hands.

2

I’ll bet you thought I wouldn’t see this. Would it be possible for you to move to a different car next time? Would you and Leah have been able to overpower him?

I think I’m going to have a heart attack.

3

I didn’t even want to get on in a different car.

I was going to e-mail you about it, too, I swear.

4

If I remember correctly from a psychology class from years ago, the people who expose themselves are not usually the ones who become violent.

Bethany says: Oh my GAAAAWD!

Ros is here also, but he is in another room and hasn’t yet seen your thread. What do you intend to do to keep yourselves safe?

(I am going to send the link to this to your Uncle Will.)

5

I think basically, that getting off the train was the best thing we could have done. I don’t really know what else I could have done.

Anyone have suggestions? I’ve been thinking about buying mace.

6

Actually, I was only laughing about the hand-groping and the vestigial back-fur at first. I never saw the penis. After I’d been asphyxiating with hilarity for ten minutes, she said “And the other thing.”

I said naively, “What other thing? All I saw was the hand-groping. What was the other thing?”

And she just looked at me flatly and said, “He had his dick out.”

I blanched. I gawked. I gasped.

I combusted into redoubled laughter.

And don’t worry, surrogate mom, ma’am. There were enough other people in the car that we wouldn’t have had to face him alone if he tried anything. Besides, I had a bag full of cans of Pringles and knew how to use it.

The real scare tonight remains the two-inch cockroach. Which we ended up microwaving. But that’s another story.

7

Was Leah scared?

How wise is it post what train you ride in New York? Is this stuff easily traceable?

8

Hey, it’s New York. People have sex in blue station wagons parked in front of your apartment building.

…wait, did you tell mom that story yet?

Just travel in numbers and stay alert.

9

What’s the deal with the two inch cockroach? Is this the same one you told us about finding the week you moved in? Or is this a new one?

10

Laura, I don’t think there’s real danger about revealing too much. New York’s enormity is camouflage. You just have to put up with a few subway showmen.

11

Probably close to a million people ride the 7 everyday. I don’t know that I’ve seen the same people more than once. There are trains running all the time.

12

Wouldn’t it have been kinder just to put it outside somewhere? Microwaving sounds cruel, even to a cockroach.

Ros is just leaving.

Have you heard much about people being bothered on the subways? (Of course, that is the reason you posted this in the first place, right?)

13

laughs The first one was a four-inch. This could very well have been kin seeking vengeance. And it’s very well nuked, in a sandwich-sized tupperware container, in our garbage can. Eau de Grilled Roach—a scent for a man or a woman.

14

I mentioned that it was cruel, but at the same time, I didn’t want the thing coming back in the apartment. Mr. B was no help. He just stood there, and when he finally saw the thing, he missed it.

I’ve heard of a lot of subways scams for money, but I haven’t heard of anything like this happening to anyone I know.

15

Bethany accidentally locked Beaner in her bedroom, with her backpack on the floor. . . guess what happened to the backpack? I have to buy her another one tomorrow.

Do the cats in your apartment ever play with the cockroaches? Are there cockroaches in apartments everywhere in NYC, or are you girls just lucky?

16

I think they’re ubiquitous. As for cruelty, I saw no redeeming qualities, and I’ll stand unashamed come Judgement Day. If it was a rat, that’d be different. If it’s furry, let it scurry; if it’s shelled, give it hell.

17

While I did e-mail the link to this thread to Will, I will never tell ANY of it to your grandfather, who thought you should be taking the next bus home the day after you left (before you were halfway there).

Ros said you bought two more pairs of shoes on the way. He says Jennifer has more shoes than you do.

Sorry to be hogging your thread; I may sit back for a while and give others a chance to respond.

18

But Leah, that was quite funny.

19

Wanna come visit?

And while I did buy two more pairs of shoes, I also left about fifteen at home. So there.

20

LOL I’m sorry, don’t mean to laugh…but this sounds like my mother after I told her about someone touching my (|) on the train here in Atlanta one day. I stomped his foot and got off at the next stop. She told me to start driving downtown to work- yeah, right, like that’ll happen.

She said about the same things…ROFLMAO

:slight_smile: thanks for the laugh