Lights Out

Stephen and I rode home in the dark tonight. When our train pulled into West 4th and I saw that the car was dark, my first thought was that the power was out in there and that it was going to feel like a dark furnace of body heat. One of those "Aren't you glad you use Dial?" moments. We poked our heads in anyway when the doors opened and it was pleasantly cool, the lights being the only thing out of order. It was sort of late already, but though the train was full there were seats for most and we gratefully sat down by the door. I have not ridden in a completely dark subway car before. It was like being in some rickety roller-coaster hurtling towards an unknown dip or loop. The lights on the walls of the tunnels flashed in, illuminating the faces of our fellow passengers. Everyone was quiet. At one point, after we had crossed the bridge and were on Brooklyn soil, the train came to a stand-still waiting for it's turn to enter the station. We sat for at least 5 minutes. After the first 2 minutes passed, people began taking out various electronic devices (cell phones, iPods, Blackberries) and soon the car was filled with the wan glow of so many LCD screens. I guess most people don't like sitting in the dark. I thought it was exhilarating. But then again, I felt pretty safe sitting there next to Stephen.

In other news, two NYPD detectives showed up Sunday night to check on us. They were following up on our burglary !!! They came to see if our landlord had paid restitution and find out if we wanted to press charges. Of course we did not want to press charges, and we were shocked that the detectives took the time to come out to our little place to tie up the loose ends of our tiny little theft. Gave me a little more faith in those cops that do so love to run red lights.