Short Story

Man Or Beast

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

It’s time once again for The Unicorn Challenge
where we are asked to respond to the photo prompt
by writing something brilliant in 250 words or less.
In exactly 250 words, this is my response.

© Ayr/Gray

The first half of my morning commute was always quite pleasant. I’d buy a muffin and a freshly brewed cup of coffee at Britain and McCain’s, then hop on the Metro North New Haven line. The 7:18 train was brightly lit, clean, and the seats were suitably arranged, making for a comfortable ride. I’d always see the same faces, fellow suburbanites with their briefcases and newspaper tucked under an arm. A nod or a wave was all that was necessary; it was all quite civilized. Arriving at Grand Central Terminal, I’d hustle to catch the subway; once inside, all masks of civility were discarded. It became a jungle, survival of the fittest.
Finding a seat on the subway was a continuous battle. Any shred of human decency was stripped away as people trampled each other in the hope of securing a place to sit or, at the very least, a spot against a wall on which to lean. If you were unable to find neither seat nor wall, you’d have no choice but to position yourself in the aisles where you could hang onto the hand straps suspended from the ceiling or stand shoulder-to-shoulder like disgruntled sheep crammed in a stall with no place to go. If anyone should stumble and fall, God help them because no one else would! Livestock on their way to the slaughterhouse. No wonder so many people were frustrated and disillusioned, dragging themselves to jobs they hated in conditions not fit for man or beast.

NAR©2024
250 Words

The Unicorn Challenge-16/02/24

This is the Beatles with “One After 909”

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

44 thoughts on “Man Or Beast”

  2. That commute sounds just awful, and your comments about the added danger of encountering a predatory fellow passenger make me shudder. You’ve described the horrors of your subway experience so vividly, and I really like how you contrasted it with the first stage of your trip. It doesn’t really take much to bring out the worst in us humans, does it? Tooth and claw indeed.

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    1. I must apologize for this ridiculously late reply, Margaret; I totally missed your comment so please forgive me!

      Thank you so much! You always take your time and give excellent comments which is an art that’s greatly appreciate by me. I’m glad you were able to hear my voice so well in this story and understand what suffering through the perils of the underground is like. It really is the pits and I don’t miss that ride one bit!

      I just heard a news report about a guy who didn’t have the guts to walk away when his girlfriend broke up with him so rather than be a man and deal with it, he pushed her onto the subway tracks as the train was coming into the station. We didn’t have horrors like that happening when I was riding so it’s obvious the condition of the underground has horribly deteriorated.

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      1. No apology needed. It’s easy to miss the occasional comment. Your story about the fatality is horrifying. In fact, a similar thing happened at a station near me recently. A couple were arguing. He grabbed her bag and threw it onto the tracks. She jumped down to retrieve it. He saw the train coming and jumped down to help her and both were killed. Dangerous places, railways.

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          1. You’re so right.There are horrors all around us. It takes a real effort not to allow yourself to dwell on them. That doesn’t help anyone, does it? Good to be aware, but keep on putting out the good stuff wherever possible, and dwell on that. That’s my theory, anyway.😊

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          1. Yes. Much better to take one bus right into town and then walk the rest of the way.

            Same here. Plus, to take my car into work, takes 21 minutes; if I took the bus/metro, it would take 1-1.5 hours! Nope.

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                1. Oh please! I hate waiting. Think of all the precious time we spend waiting. It just galls me when people can’t be on time! True, there are forces we can’t control, like traffic or weather, but we certainly can anticipate and prepare for them. GRRR! 😖

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  7. As one who commuted at different times of my working life, I can identify with much of this powerful portrayal of the urban jungle.

    Great take, Nancy, and good to hear Johnny at his raucous best!

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  8. Elegantly graphic story.

    (Total simpatico with the travelers in my story. Though an ocean away.)

    the other benefit of participation: have never had life include such transportation. now I know I’m not deprived by a life of a real estate broker in suburbia.

    lol thanks!

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  9. Such a great description of the contrasting legs of the journey.
    I’m comforted by the thought that second leg of your journey home let you recover some peace of mind?
    Overheard in the underground in Glasgow one rush hour: ‘Jeez, if they transported sheep like this, there’d be a protest!’
    Crowds seem to be an invitation to people to be at their worst.
    Just remembered another ‘overheard’, this time in the Metro in Paris.
    A young woman grabs the marauding hand, thrusts it in the air and shouts, ‘Anybody want to claim this hand?’

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    1. Oh, that is a great line! Wish I’d been that clever with rogue hands back then!

      The return trip was definitely the time to unwind although I couldn’t wait to get home and jump in the shower. Sometimes for the subway ride uptown to Grand Central, I would take the “local” train in the opposite direction – further into lower Manhattan. I’d get off three stops later, cross over to the other side and wait for the uptown train. Why? Because that was the originating point, the train was empty and I was always guaranteed a seat! As a local it made more stops but at least I could bury my nose in a book or just close my eyes to everything around me.

      Thanks so much, Jenne.

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    1. Oh dear. That sounds dreadful!

      The worst times were mid-summer when the power went out (including the AC) and the subway got stuck; we were submerged into darkness in a jam packed train car and suddenly you feel someone’s hand (you pray that’s which appendage it is) pressed against your ass. Trapped!

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    1. After years of commuting on a daily basis via the NY transit system, I always had to brace myself before entering the subway. It’s been a long time since my working days. Now, whenever I travel into Manhattan, I drive; I’d rather do battle with taxis, buses and trucks. It’s infinitely safer.

      Thank you, Sadje.

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