the rix mix

Winding down from a radio show & traveling home from Jersey City at 4 am., first time I've done it at that hour. Exchange Place PATH station was deserted, except for some green vested workers I was glad to see. Large, slick wall ads for condos, "River views starting at low 500's." Yeah, they leave off the dollar signs & zeros. Outdoor pool. Health club. Concierge service. Fancy name for the person you call when the toilet breaks. The long escalator squeaking & clanking, cold wind blowing out of the tunnel as the train approached under the Hudson. The train picked up early risers at Grove Street & Journal Square, many made the transfer with me to the first Trenton local out of Newark at 4:40 am. Penn Station in Newark has a 24 hour newsstand & sandwich shop now, the morning papers were being stacked, lot of people around. A few sleeping homeless, out of the way, the police let them be. The main concourse is always safe. Hard to resist the smell of fresh coffee when you know you have to go to sleep. It was snowing in Elizabeth, big wet flakes with the drizzle - I don't think we saw a snowflake until January last winter. That last part of the journey, the walk, was cold & desolate, I didn't mind the lousy weather, there can be strange folks out & about on warm nights. Even so, I passed a stumbling drunk. Walked in the door a few minutes after 5, still nighttime dark. I really dislike coming home at sunrise.

Whenever I'm inclined to think taking mass transit home from Jersey City is a hardship, I recall the night in 2000 a ball joint blew out on the Turnpike exit ramp in Elizabeth, about 3 am. I didn't get home until 6 am - I was lucky, walking from the repair shop in Rahway where a tow truck had deposited me & my car, & driven away with a lot of my money, in cash.

Labels: WFMU