20 December 2005

The Day The Subway Stood Still

They've done it! Monday night I stayed up with my hand-crank radio to find out if there would be a transit strike at 12:01 am Tuesday, but alas nothing even at 1am, when my old body could not stay up any longer. At 6:30am, something woke me up and I quickly resumed listening to the radio. It has happened! At 3am, the strike took effect. Maybe it's the less of the two evil, I think it's not right that there's a law preventing the union from striking - it's just too much power for the MTA to abuse. I wonder if anyone went to jail or was punished for keeping two separate accounting books at the MTA...

The first day wasn't so bad for me and my family. I had all my gears ready for a work-at-home day. My wife used her last sick day, my son had an extra hour or two of sleep as school opened 2 hours late. My elder brother stayed home, unpaid, while my elder sister carpooled into the city. Tomorrow can be a bit tricky, as my wife wants to go back to work instead of using up her remaining vacation days, which she wants to carry over to next year. Her brother-in-law won't leave for Chinatown in his minivan until 10am, so she may try to use the dollar van, a subway station away from us. On the way back, she wants to take the ferry from Pier 11 to somewhere in Brooklyn, then I have to pick her up. Not fun. If it's the Army Terminal she needs to get to, she will definitely be seasick by the end of the trip. I don't have a problem with motion sickness and sometimes ride the ferry from Newport to Pier 11, but I would be dizzy if I read the newspaper on the ferry. I think she's better off crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. Still, having to drive out to the bridge to meet her doesn't sound thrilling at all.

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