So, when can I pull it?

I was standing on a packed train this evening. It was one of those bizarre nights. For some reason Mondays are ten times worse than any other night of the week. There was a fire on the tracks in our station, but everyone seemed loathe to report it—probably for fear of delaying the trains any more. So . . . at any rate I get on the train and am stuck facing the emergency cord. I think I took more note of it this time due to the recent fire. Underneath the wooden handled cord was a set of instructions for different emergencies: Fire, Medical, Police and Evacuation. Every single one lists as the first instruction “Do not pull the Emergency Cord” (except “Evacuation” – for which I would assume the cord had already been pulled). Now if you shouldn’t to pull it in cases of fire, medical emergency or crime – exactly when should you pull it?? Extraterrestrials? I have no idea.

Election Day

There’s something about voting. I don’t know if it’s pulling that lever or what, but I feel powerful and I feel proud when I do it. I feel blessed that as a woman I can vote with no controversy and that as a citizen I can vote with no fear or threats. This is one of those patriotic experiences for me. I know that some in my state have decided not to vote because they think New York is pretty-much decided as it is, but that is not the point. People died for our right to flip those levers, I think that the least I could do is to show up and let my choice be known.