Last night on the Subway

Yesterday, Cassi was looking for a story for a curriculum she is working on. She wanted a story whose moral was it takes a village to do social justice, or at least, this is what I was understanding she was looking for. We talked about a few ideas and I went on my way.

As I walked to the subway last night, I noticed two young women struggling to the platform. Both were dressed in hip, contemporary clothing. One was leaning heavily on the other. I assumed one, if not both were drunk or one woman was injured and limping. I stepped on to the train.

At some point, I realized that people were walking towards my end of the subway. I looked up, and there were the two girls. One sitting, the other knealing before her, comforting her. A pool of liquid sloshing about the train below. The sitting girl, Katie, had just vomited all over herself, into her purse, on her coat, the floor, and...on her friend. Vomit and its stench began to pervade the train.

The two girls were a tableau in an ever-growing clearing of empty space on the train. I turned to th crowd and said, anyone have some tissues. Everyone said no except one man. He rifled through his things for them. I approached him, thanked him and explained that the girl who had just thrown up would really appreciate it. I brought the pile of tissues to the girls and helped clean up. The friend, knealing before Katie was saying, it's ok, I am your best-friend, this is ok, we're almost home, it's ok! And Katie kept saying, I'm so sorry, so sorry.

Katie looked awful-very white. And she was clearly mortified. I chatted with them for a few moments...and then...another woman came over. She too offered tissues and comfort. And then...another woman...three people on a late-night train all stepped in to intervene with a vomiting woman.

It was beautiful. As the train approached my stop, I stepped back and marveled at what people could do together, what several strangers on a train could come together to do to repair a small temporary tear in the fabric of the world.

I stepped of the train, my faith in humanity slightly renewed.