Iron rails & iron weights

Monday, May 12, 2008
10:30:00 PM EDT
All it takes is one indisposed skell.

An easy morning on the LIRR, to the extent that any Monday morning can be easy.  Today's unseasonably cold weather made waiting for the shuttle on the exposed Medford platform a less-than-pleasant experience.  Fortunately, once at Ronkonkoma I saw that the 6:56 to Flatbush Avenue was an M-3 consist, and with a little quick footwork I was able to snag a single seat.  It made for a pleasant ride to Jamaica, helped along by the games of cell phone Tetris I was playing.  At Jamaica I made a quick transfer to the 8:01 dual mode to Penn, which ended up arriving several minutes late due to time spent at a dead stop just west of Jamaica.  The conductor announced the cause of the delay over the PA ... not that it was much help, because the PA system was nearly impossible to hear.  Maintaining workable PA systems in their cars is a seemingly simple task that is beyond the LIRR's ability to manage.  After we finally arrived at Penn, on the narrow-platformed Track 17, I went to the subway station only to be greeted by chaos.  People were milling around the turnstiles and the crowding on the 1 platform when I finally pushed my way to it was almost impossible to believe.  My immediate thought was that the 1 wasn't running.  I fought my way through the crowds and eventually made it to the express platform, figuring that I could take a 2 or 3 to Chambers Street and then backtrack to Houston Street.  It turned out that the express was shut down, with the 2 sitting on the platform out of service according to a couple subway workers, on account of a "passenger needed medical assistance."  The passenger in question was - surprise! - a totally spavined skell, half-lying and half-sitting in a seat.  I had to fight the crowds back to the local platform, where I somehow was able to board a hugely crowded 2 express that was running local.  It made for an unpleasant ride to Houston Street, though just after we left 14th I saw a train running on the express track, apparently the indisposed skell had been removed from the train.  Amazing how something so ridiculous can throw schedules into such disruption.

My afternoon subway experience was much much better, with no wait at Houston Street and then an immediate transfer to an express at 14th.  I made it to Penn in time to get the 5:22 to Ronkonkoma, which alas was an M-7 consist.  The manwho sat next to me wasn't too large, however, and I had a decent enough ride to Ronkonkoma and the shuttle.  I spent most of the trip reading, having started Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  What I can't figure out is why Dr. F. has a German name despite being Italian, maybe that'll be explained later in the story. 

Gym: Another fast session, 2.5 miles on the treadmill at 6.0 mph.


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