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path fare goes up to $7.50 - a true story


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path fare goes up to $7.50

a true story

krisjanis p gale

june 20, 2002

so i'm getting back from a great night at filter 14 (atomic hooligan dropped some kickass electro-style breakbeats), and descend the stairs of christopher st path station... no one else is in the station past the turnstiles, because the train back to jersey just left, but four dudes are just standing idly by, bitching about how long it'll be before the next train to newark gets here... i think nothing of it and whip out my quickcard and mumble, "fuckin' shit, probably a half hour"... at which point one of them asks, without hesitation now that he's seen the quickcard, "yo man, can i use that?"...

i should take the time now to introduce our cast of characters... a somewhat typical group of hoods from brick city (that's newark for those of you who "aren't down") - bandanas on their heads, too-expensive denim shorts, and t-shirts... and myself, a twentysomething who grew up in suburban new jersey, just barely cultured enough to deal with the usual urban nonsense...

i size up the four of them in one quick glance... one could probably drop me like a bad habit in a matter of seconds, another could do the same with slightly more effort, a third of medium build would surely help out if need be, and the fourth one, the most vocal of the group, would talk enough shit for the lot of them... it was the forth, obviously their liason to foreign affairs, that asked the question of me...

i attempt to hesitate but realize of course that i'm outnumbered, and not wanting to see what would happen if i said "no", i just say "sure", and hand it over to the distinguished gentleman from newark... as i see the card get passed further back i somewhat sarcastically add "oh, i suppose you're all going to use it... okay"... one by one, they each go through the turnstile for their free ride; each one giving their own increasingly cyncial version of "thank you"... not feeling the slightest urge to succumb to proper etiquette, i do not say "you're welcome"... i instead clearly state "we all just want to get home, right?"

the four of them advance into the station and sit down; three of them are ahead of me, blocked from view by a pillar, and the last, the delegate, is across the platform about fifteen feet diagonally in front of me, and would from time to time glance over to see me staring blankly at the pillar ahead...

i say nothing; i do nothing; i just stare, and i listen... i hear some laughter as the one who can see me tells his friends about my blank stare... about ten minutes later there is an exchange between the liason and a more influential member of the group, along the lines of "i hate what he did... you should see the look on his face" rebutted with "i have no reason to hate... he paid for us"... this argument is repeated in near-whispers several more times before the one that sees me finally gives up... i think to myself, "good, at least one of them realizes that those four rides weren't free, for me"...

a train approaches the platform... i already know it's the thirty-third street train, so i do not budge from my stare... all four of them get up and almost board until they realize it's not bound for brick city... they all sit back down, with plenty of time to peer over at the expression on my face... i see all this in my periphery, as i have still not moved my focus away from the cracks in the tiled pillar ahead of me, except to blink...

more time passes, and there is more laughter at my expense... the train finally arrives, and i board intentionally one car ahead of them... the train begins its crawl back toward hoboken, and not ten seconds later all four of them loudly crash through the double doors into my car and sit on the vacant bench in front of me, slightly to the right... this affords me the opportunity to continue my blank stare, focusing on the unused armrest at the end of their bench, without fear of accidentally looking over at one of them "the wrong way"...

not even a minute passes before they're in a shared fit of cackling at my silent disgust and i see, in my somewhat blurry periphery to the right, raised middle fingers and other rude gestures, precipitated by more unison laughter...

and then, something amazing happens... a hushed silence falls over the group for the remainder of the ride to hoboken...

the train comes to a stop, and i stand to wait for the door ahead of me to open... when it finally does, i rap on the door jam just before stepping off, and bid them farewell - "get home safe fellahs"... as i walk past, i see the one of medium build turn around; and he returns my silent stare...

i ascend and begin my walk home...

sharpwit@hotmail.com

http://krisgale.com

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if i were you i would've replied in the whitest fucking possible voice like puritan new england accent on a sarcastic tip:

"well dudes, if i say no what are you going to do? 'pop a cap in ma ass?' huhhhhhh? "

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Originally posted by dr0ne

plus what are those fucking cameras in the path for? dont tell me they're there only to yell at me when I try to light up a smoke.... :D

it would have taken them, oh, ten seconds to basically END me right there on the spot - what good are the cameras? the people watching would have had a perfect free showing of my demise, and then maybe a half hour later emt would arrive to pick up the pieces of what i used to be.

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Originally posted by thehacker

it would have taken them, oh, ten seconds to basically END me right there on the spot - what good are the cameras? the people watching would have had a perfect free showing of my demise, and then maybe a half hour later emt would arrive to pick up the pieces of what i used to be.

so basically its like getting jumped but:

1. you didnt

2. you lost six bucks

could've been worse.....at least you still got your wallet, shoes, bones....

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Ah Christ... even in the Internet age, we're a mere two steps away from being thrown back into a state of nature... fucking punks... they were probably just kids bored with nothing better to do, but you never know...

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Originally posted by ghhhhhost

Fuck that...pussy asses...i grew up with kids like that...all u had to say was NAH I DONT HAVE ENOUGH ON MY CARD and thats it..theyre all on that power trip because theres 4 of them..trust me they wouldnt have done shit to u...

wrong, the led readout at the turnstile shows very clearly how many trips are left, and it was right there for them to see... they even made a snide comment "oh you got 12 baby, plenty left"

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hey i understand where ur coming from..sometimes in these situations its best not to try to b a hero about it and just give in

the shit that bothers me is (i said it b4) that i grew up with these type of so called gangsters..i saw their shit..and sometimes when they didnt know who i chilled with theyd try to pull shit like that with me ...deep down inside theyre pussies..and the only reason they clown u is cause ur a whiteboy...and im tellin u..i can almost guarantee it...if u said NO..just straight up No...they wouldnt have done SHIT..theyre punks man..but i still respect the way u handled the situation

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Dude - I feel for you in that situation. You did the right thing, but I know exactly how you feel.

They had all the power in that situation and you had no other choice but to take their shit. It sucks because you fell totally helpless and angry.

Honestly it makes you totally sympathetic with the Bernie Goetz's of the world. They were bullies, hopefully they will run in to somone who is a bigger bully one day.

Sorry to hear that happened to you.

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Originally posted by laraver

Dude - I feel for you in that situation. You did the right thing, but I know exactly how you feel.

They had all the power in that situation and you had no other choice but to take their shit. It sucks because you fell totally helpless and angry.

Honestly it makes you totally sympathetic with the Bernie Goetz's of the world. They were bullies, hopefully they will run in to somone who is a bigger bully one day.

Sorry to hear that happened to you.

lots worse could have happened.

at least i didn't offer any words to fuel

whatever fire they were trying to start.

if bernie geotz had a stun gun instead of a pistol i can pretty much gaurantee you he wouldn't have served 8 and a 1/2 years and been sued for a total $43 million in punitive damages...

why the hell aren't stun guns legal to carry?!

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