NO SMOKING ???

Ever since NY put the ban on smoking in bars, I have enjoyed nights of coming home without the stench of smoke in my hair. But last night was a night where I didn't even go out to a bar and I came home reeking of not only cigarettes but a cigar as well!

After a relaxing night of cafe dwelling, I boarded a train uptown. As soon as I sat down a man who was clearly homeless, dug a lighter and a half smoked cigarette out of his pocket and lit the cancer stick . I looked around the train car as the smell began to waft. Everyone turned to look at the man who was mumbling to himself ( why do I find the mumblers!!!). The man had blood dripping down his elbow and had thrown his legs up on the seat (This is now not allowed and punishable by a fine thanks to the MTA). I am afraid to walk through the train cars so I waited until the train arrived at the next stop which was 42nd street. I changed over to the express train even though I knew I would have to wait a longer period of time at 86th street to change back to the local. So I boarded the new train and breathed deeply. Ahhh, the clean air. Well as clean as subway car air can be!

I was slightly upset that now my clothes and hair had absorbed the odor of the cigarettes. The rest of that specific train ride was uneventful. I went to change back to the local train and knew I would have to wait a while for the next train. I stood on the platform and watched the men clean all the subway gunk out of the tracks. This is an interesting procedure to watch. One man has a huge shovel and he lifts up the sludge found between the tracks. Another man holds open a white garbage bag while man number 1 pours the gunk into the bag. It is actually quite disgusting to see. If that was not unappealing enough, a rank odor filled the air. It was a cheap cigar. I looked around the station to see why another person felt the need to pollute the already obviously gross subway air and my lungs. My eyes wandered and finally fell down to the tracks since I could not locate the person who was making me feel like I was going to puke. I began to watch to subway tunnel cleaners, when I noticed that a man who was standing in the gunk observing the other workers was smoking the cigar! First of all, why someone would want to smoke a smelly cigar is beyond me. Secondly, the man was standing there as if he was staring at a beautiful flower in a park. I guess if you work in the subway tunnels cleaning out garbage, you breathe in things much worse than cigars. Just like the man I saw sipping his coffee while straddling the third rail, subway workers lives provide much entertainment for me while I wait in the stations. My train arrived and I sat down and fished my book out of my bag. I grabbed my hair and stuck it under my nose. It smelled awful. Despite the fact that I hate the smell, it was an interesting night of illegal subway smoking.