Photo Trilogy: Limbo; Missed Connection; Ralphie's Big Adventure

Limbo

I have spent so much time underground that the days are blurry. The eerie fluorescent lighting, clammy warm temperature. Rancid food smells emanate from the trash, the burning oil smell of the tracks. There is the occasional excitement of a big rat sighting. I wonder if they are looking for food or water? They always look disoriented, like a lost tourist in Times Square. I forget the day of the week, what the weather is like outside, and sometimes, even where I’m going.

Purgatory is a suitable name for it, not subway. What the fuck does that mean anyway? It’s more than an underground passage for people. It is a shelter for the homeless, a way of life for buskers, and a place of work for MTA minions. For me? I’m stuck here, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Let me explain: At exactly 7:45 am, I walked onto the platform on Bedford Avenue. My usual morning commute, heading for the city. So, I got on the L train and got off at Union Square. Walked to the N train platform to transfer. I’m halfway down the platform, heading to the end so that I’m close to my exit at the next stop. I hear the train approaching and I look down at the tunnel and see its headlights. Out of nowhere, I get pushed hard and I fall onto the tracks. I had no idea what happened next as I blacked out.

I came to my senses and realized I couldn’t feel my body or really move at all; I couldn’t even talk. “Maybe I’m in shock.” I can clearly see I’m under the train, which has stopped. I can hear someone trying to talk to me from the platform, but the sound is blurry, they sound like a character from Charlie Brown. It sounded like “Don’t move!”, no shit Sherlock, where am I gonna go?

Hopefully, Mr. Big Rat won’t come around for a snack. “Shit, Shit!!! Can someone please fucking help me!!” Tears start streaming down my face and now I can barely see. “Stop it, Stop crying. You need to at least be able to see what is going on. What if the train moves again? Hell, do I still have my legs?”.

My mind is racing. Thump, thump, I feel my heart pounding in my head. My hearing clears enough for me to hear what is being said. “Should we move the train or is there a way to get him out without moving it? We need to send someone down into the tracks to better assess the situation.” “AAAAHHHHHHH!!! Just do something. I’m dying over here! For fuck’s sake! If I survive this, I’m moving. Getting as far away from here as I can. Limbo… yeah, that’s a good name for it.”

Missed Connection

Waiting on a train…It’s late again, I started thinking of you. I saw you across the store, caramel skin, long auburn hair, you were wearing a denim skirt, and open-toe cream clogs. Red lips with a smile that could light the night sky. I wanted to say hi but alas I was shy. I was shopping for some kicks, and you were browsing with your friends. We made eye contact. That one second changed everything.

Now I come to the store every week on the same day, at the same time, hoping to see you again. It’s getting expensive as I feel bad hanging out without buying something. Eight pairs of socks, four pairs of underwear, three hats, and one pair of sneakers. The ones I was trying out when I saw you. I wear them to the store every week. I don’t even know your name! Every Wednesday at 5:30 pm on the dot I am in the store, I stand right by the men’s sneaker wall looking for you. The security guys call me Romeo. But I’m not giving up on you. My mother didn’t raise a quitter. I memorized the store layout and all its parts, learned a few tidbits, like they named the store after a song from The Clash. What would our song be?

Ralphie’s Big Adventure

Wagging his little tail, young Ralphie could barely contain himself. His mom had asked him to go with her over to the tracks for the first time. The rite of passage to become an adult.

He had never been out of their little village. He was going to go outside where the giants live and the big steel machines roam. “It’s loud and smelly and the air is so warm, and the wind blows really fast” at least that is what he was told. His mom set the ground rules for their little excursion: “Follow me closely and walk where I walk. There are some parts of the metal track you do not want to touch. They will be warmer than the others, and they will carry electricity. Do you understand Ralphie?”. Yes, mom, do not want to touch the warm metal parts, I got it. Can we go already?". His excitement was justified as he had heard countless stories of delicious snacks one can find in such an oasis. Ralphie wanted to see it with his own eyes, smell it with his own little snout. Maybe taste a little morsel of the giant’s discarded food. He had heard about the warm and inviting smell and the delicious taste of such gifts.

Ralphie followed his mom through the dark passages. They were snug, hugging his furry exterior. Its walls tickled him, so he increased his speed, and he slid off the small opening crashing onto the tracks into a puddle. He shook off the water from his fur and composed himself. “Look at what you’ve done? Now you are all wet. When the train comes you are going to be very cold.” His mom said. “Sorry mom, I just took a tumble.”

There was a sudden shift of temperature, it was hot and humid on the tracks. He felt like his fur dried instantly. Out of the corner of his eye, Ralphie noticed a purple wrapper, his nose translated a delicious and unusual aroma. It inundated his senses and took over his body. He was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. In the middle of the purple and golden crumpled paper a streak of golden caramel was oozing out its broken chocolate home. It sat in a puddle of water, but that did not stop Ralphie from digging right in getting drenched again in the process.

“A train is coming Ralphie. RALPHIE!? Step away from that track!!! It carries electricity. RALPHIE!!!” Ralphie couldn’t hear his mom, the vibration of the train shook the ground, a strong wind rushed in the tunnel through the tracks to create a wall of sound blocking his mom’s anxious cries. The caramel sweetness overwhelmed all his senses as he floated in a fantastical world created by his taste buds.

As the train approached the amount of current flowing through the tracks intensified, a strong spark hit the puddle. BZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!