The Day of the Tornado

For many a days now I have been racking my brain to come up with something to write about…..coz the truth is no one wants to put down stuff that sounds totally idiotic…even if the Blog is really supposed to be a virtual diary……yeah! But everyone reads it!

Irrelevant…now…what is relevant atleast to me is what happened yesterday on the 8th of August 2007. The day the rain gods and the tornado gods decided to pay a visit to NY.

The night before we were issued a minor warning that there will be thunderstorms in the area, nothing major. In the morning though around 6:00 there was terrible thunder and lighting….and it was pouring cats and dogs!

But that lasted like an hour and then it was all quite. Commute was a different story altogether. As soon as I got to the Subway, I was told that all the trains were shut down. When I looked up, I saw thousands of people, stranded! Waiting for the bus that refused to come, trying to get into work!

I managed to get on into an Express bus, the driver of which was way more grumpier than the weather that had just passed by. He kept screaming at the top of his voice that there were only 5 seats on the bus!....yeah right! Like that message was going to get across to the thousands waiting to storm the bus.

Anyway as soon as I sat down, a very heavily pregnant woman got on and was standing in the Aisle. Not one person had the courtesy to get up and offer the poor lady a seat. I figured, that she needed to sit more than I did, and asked her if she wanted to. The relief on her face was unbelievable! So I got up ad let her sit.

The journey on that bus lasted for around 2 hrs during which I kept standing, during which time, a man kept making clicks, coz I was standing too near his seat. I was literally at a point where I would have gotten right near his face and screamed “Shut up u moron, atleast u are sitting.! This aisle is hardly 2 feet wide, a little inconvenience is not gonna kill you!...and stop making that noise…if it bothers u so much…leave the seat…and go upfront and stand’’ Idiot!

Oh well….the journey lasted a long time….infact it lasted 3 ½ hrs….it usually takes me like an hour and a half to get to work!...but at the end I was proud of myself of never loosing my temper, inspite of all the annoyed and annoying people around me, and more so for doing atleast one good deed on a day when it would have been much easier to turn a blind eye to the inconvenience of another

So from now on, I am going to do atleast one good deed a day…and everyday there are many such opportunities…it is just that many of us choose to ignore them….but not anymore…not me!

So my good deed for yesterday was giving up my seat to a pregnant lady…who needed it more than me….lets see what today has in strore!

A helping hand

Travel has it seems become a huge part of my daily routine. Sitting in the Bus and Subway and catching up on a snooze or listening to songs, oblivious to the hundreds of people around is now second nature. But then again , this is probably the story of every person in a major city! On my way back from office today, as I got into the subway, I noticed a man slumped in the seat, fast asleep, with his hand on his stomach. So as usual no one wanted to be seated near him. People it seems avoid anything that can become remotely uncomfortable. I wonder if the man was drunk, that's the first assumption isn't it? or maybe he was just really tired from a hard day of work...but hell no one dared to go near him....let him be...all by himself..till the very last stop...and even then...no one dared to go near and wake him up....I wonder if I am a coward like everyone else in some way or the other....or have I become that cold? With those thoughts running thru my mind, I boarded the bus for the next phase of my journey. A few stops later, a man boarded the bus, limping, using his hands to pull himself up, at the same time, trying to balance the shopping load. He had a huge knee brace on...so he stretched out...and people just kept bumping into him...unconcerned..cold! When his stop came, he got up and tried to step down the three steps to the ground....I never knew that taking three steps is perhaps the most daunting thing in a man's life. He struggled and struggled , unable to take a single step....but no one got up to help him...even I sat there...in waiting to see what he does. But I couldnt stand it anymore...couldnt face the voice within asking me to help this man....so I got up, and asked if I could help by holding his shopping bags, so he can use his arms to help himself down....at the same time the driver came to help ...not out of concern...but knowing he wold be in trouble if this man hurt himself. I got off the bus a few stops ahead...and I turned back to see....a few people looking at me from the passing bus window...thier eyes cold!..while I walked away feeling the warmth!