CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK - GRAND CENTRAL STATION
New York's famous landmark, Grand Central Station, looked so festive and beautiful with the lights shows and decorations.
There I stood, with my camera, taking photos like a typical tourist, in the middle of a sea of people rushing around at Grand Central Station. Trains arriving from Connecticut or Pennsylvania poured waves of bodies onto the platforms. These waves of bodies then crashing across the lobby, rushing towards the subway, emptied into various tracks, uptown Manhattan/the Bronx or downtown Manhattan/Brooklyn on #4, 5 or 6, to Flushing, Queens on #7 or to Times Square-42nd Street if you wish to get a seat when the train makes its last stop before turning around heading to Flushing. Looking at the Subway map, I just realized that I never took the S train which only runs back and forth from Grand Central Station to Times Square. My sister CH said she felt like Pacman in the video game whenever she gets off the subway, walking across the lobby to get outside the building then to her office. CH said she tried to time her steps, to the left, to the right, as not to be crushed alive by giant waves of passengers rushing from the trains to the subway. (How I wish I could protect my little sister who was born with muscular dystrophy from people who have no compassion towards those who are physical disadvantage. I am always proud of my sister because she never allowed any setback deterring her independence.) 
I have a lot of wonderful memories taking the trains to Connecticut and Pennsylvania with a group of foreign exchange students. The years were 1982-84. There were about 20 students in the group. Each American family would receive two or three students for the weekend. The students had the opportunity to practice their English and to meet "real" Americans, in additional to typical New Yorkers! I still keep in touch with two families I met back then.
2 comments:
I took the S train a few times when I worked for the Korean sweatshop near Grand Central Station. I would take it from GC to Times Square to switch to the N. If the weather is nice, I would take the 7 to Queensboro Plaza to change to the N there, but the Plaza platform is above ground, so the route with the S train is better on bad weather days.
One time I was so tired after a long day at the sweatshop I fell asleep on the S train shortly after boarding it. When I woke up again, the train had made its one and only stop at Time Square and came back to Grand Central. I actually ran out of the train car then realized that I was back at GC and ran back in. I felt wide awake that time and did not take another nap.
Just stopping by to say hi!
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