My Times Square Bomb Scare Experience

Oh Yes.  I have one.  It was that I was stuck in a subway tube for an hour and twenty minutes.

Little ol' me had a rehearsal up on 190th street at 5 PM and a date at 6:30 PM in the theatre district.  Already running late from my rehearsal, I phoned the gent to say that I was going to be late, that I was getting on the train at 6:15 and we agreed  since there was no way that I was going to make our 6:30 reservation that we'd meet at 7 and then head to the theatre at 8.  I then stepped into the subway.

And I stepped out at 7:55.

I stood the whole time.  The intercom didn't work, so though we knew that the dispatcher was trying to tell us something, none of us could hear a word.  We just sat in a dark tunnel for 10 minutes, then moved 100 feet, then sat for 10 minutes, then moved another 100 feet.  The only thing I could do to calm my raging irritation, anger and general helplessness was to repeat to myself, 'I recognize that I am not in control of this situation.  I accept that I can do absolutely nothing.'

To top it off, once I got landside at 59th street, picked up all the kind messages from my date saying that he figured I got stuck and he left my ticket at the theatre and he had a granola bar for me (great guy!), I  jumped in a taxi, gave him the address of the theatre and told him to step on it.  He kind of looked at me and shrugged and said, "you know, it probably would be faster if you just walked. "

So walked I did.  The House Manager who seated me late told me that there was a bomb scare, I put two and two together, and went in to see the show.  Only after the show, a late dinner, and a walk to Pinkberry, did we venture over to Time Square to see the action.

And then I took a taxi home.