There was a time when I didn’t think twice about using the subway. In the 1990s when I taught at a public school on West 120 Street, I’d take the A train uptown to 125th Street and walk to my school, PS 76. People on the street would greet me with “Hi, Teacher!” I felt proud knowing they appreciated my service in the neighborhood.
Crime in New York subway has skyrocketed, going up 200 percent just this past week. We see murder and mayhem on the news every night, so seniors like myself opt for the bus even though it’s slow and can have its own share of drama as I found out last Sunday.
I set out to attend a one-time staged reading/fundraiser for "Boann and the Well of Wisdom" by John Kearns, starring Annalisa Chamberlin. A copy of my book, “Call of the Lark” was one of the raffle prizes along with Larry Kirwan’s “Rockaway Blues,” Kathleen Donohue’s “Ashes of Fiery Weather” and Malachy McCourt’s “A Monk Swimming.” In addition, I wanted to experience the return of the weekly music session by singer/musician Mary Courtney and fiddler Patrick Mangan following the play reading.
Le Chéile – the pub where this was happening is on West 181st Street. Due to the rise in subway crime, I focused on getting there by bus. At 125th Street, I’d have to switch from the M104 to a second bus. The driver warned me that it would probably take “a long time” and suggested that I might want to consider the train instead. I said I had given myself ample time and didn’t mind the adventure.
At some point along the way, it was time for the driver’s shift to end and another to take over. After a long time foostering with the wheel, which seemed to be stuck and then the seat which was too far away from the pedals, the driver hopped on and off the bus looking up and down the street for someone she’d called on the phone.
A mechanic finally showed up and got busy with a tool. The passengers were becoming restless at this point, complaining that they wanted another bus. An elderly woman shouted out that the driver couldn’t reach the pedals and she was too short to be a driver anyway and why couldn’t the first one have stayed on? Finally, we were all ordered off the bus and ushered on to another one for which we had to wait 15 minutes more. At this point, I was tempted to ask if anyone wanted to join me in a chorus of the well-known children’s song “The Wheels of the bus Go Round and Round.” Not everyone looked friendly so I thought it best to keep my teacher training skills to myself.
This third driver didn’t look happy to see us although he didn’t appear to be having any trouble with his feet reaching the pedals or his hands turning the wheel. He did have trouble with something, however, because the bus stalled and we had to wait for another ten minutes before he got it moving again.
Finally, at two minutes before show time, I got to my destination. Le Chéilé was busy with lively chatter and smiling, courteous wait staff. On the second floor, where the reading took place, I grabbed a chair next to playwright Thom Molyneaux who joined me in praise of Annalisa Chamberlin’s excellent performance. Afterwards, Mary Courtney’s singing combined with Patrick Mangan’s fiddle skills answered the question of why Le Chéile pub is so popular on a Sunday afternoon.
A couple of hours later when I headed home, there was only one other passenger on the downtown bus. Although she appeared to be disheveled, she did not have many shopping bags – signature appearance of the homeless. She made the sign of the cross when the bus started and continued blessing herself over and over. I sat on the opposite side of the bus and tried to avert my eyes when she started signaling to someone invisible over her head and then on either side of her. I realized that the signal she was making was the protective Italian gesture to avoid il Malocchio – the evil eye. The hand is closed in a fist raising the forefinger and pinkie creating a pair of horns. I realized that the signal she was making was the protective Italian gesture to avoid il Malocchio – the evil eye. The hand is closed in a fist raising the forefinger and pinkie creating a pair of horns. It is said that that this gesture is meant to ward off a person who might bring bad luck. Since I was the only other passenger, I was suspicious and then relieved that she addressed the horns to the invisible person over her head. Still, just to be sure, I got off the bus at 72nd Street and walked for a while.
I’ll rely now on the bus to take me where I need to go. My next trip is tonight, March 15, downtown to Mick Moloney’s “The Green Fields Of America at the famed Players Club on Gramercy Park. The website tells me that the Q Train will get me there in 16 minutes from midtown. That may be so, but I’ll give myself extra time and take the bus again.
Maura Mulligan is author of the memoir, “Call of the Lark.”
