* JuanMapu - Vida en Nueva York

Inspired by the Bed-Stuy Banana: Books on the JMZ section, I've been collecting fragments of conversations that have taken me away from my subway's reading.

1. Two Kids meditating on "Notorious" the movie - F train uptown Queens bound
"Biggie's kid grew up with everything. I don't think he would be a good rapper, he ain't got nothing to rap."

2. A Nuyorican man helping two Dominican ladies on their way to The Bronx - A train uptown bound

"I prefer Santo Domingo rather than San Juan. I've been living in NYC my whole life and I'm not going to die in Puerto Rico just for looking at some woman buttocks. Here people might get mad about it, but they're not gonna kill you for that".

3. On the economy. A man telling his NYC's host about his job situation somewhere in America - D train Bronx bound

"I do like the new store, but it's not the same. We are just making 1/4 of what we used to make in the old store."

A couple of things from a loud Latina in her forties, walking with a cane. Train A Uptown.

1. On bags.
"I am a bag lady, you'll see me with a bag...always."

2. On the racist cartoon from the New York Post.
"They don't understand is Obama's time. They'll soon get it."

*****************
...And on president Obama's performance:

1. A retiree at the doctor's office.
"I listened to his speech. The kid is doing it right."

2. A woman giving advice to some dude in his cubicle.
"You do what Obama is telling you to do".

A happy baby talking to his mother and everyone else in the train - A train Uptown

"A ta ta ta ta da a da ta ta da da ta ta da ta ta ta da a a da."

I need to get better with catching the whole things, but sometimes a drawing is just a line. Here:

A man talking to another while finding a seat - G Train - 9 Street Bound

"...with mustard cheese and fried."

A high school girl with all the excitement of the after school - G Train - 9 Street Bound

"Superstitions, superstitions!"

A middle age woman before getting off. - A Train Uptown Bound.

"..when I know all I need is to take a shower."

A copied DVDs vendor to a customer - A Train, Uptown bound
"All my movies are good, but everyone wants the Beyonce's 'Obsessed'."

A man talking to a female friend - J Train, Jamaica Bound
"We call that shit 'Pancake ass'."

NYC Subway, the livest metallic creature on Earth.

We all know there is always something sudden in a ride. And what about unforgettable rides. Once I lifted my ahead and look around I noticed the train was very Latino, mostly Puerto Rican. Family people, some of them carrying babies; there was an elder couple talking a little bit loud. Once I noticed the Latin majority I could not help thinking on the possibility of having a whole car speaking Spanish, which is what happened afterwards. It was a smooth ride until a couple of junkies got on. The guy was panicking and the girl was in complete desperation, trying to find a bag of sugar to stop that sort of attack. And here came my Spanish train:

"Están locos," said the lady in front of me.
"Cuando no tienen droga lo que piden es azúcar, ese carajo no tiene nada", said the husband and father of a little girl, two seats away.
"Voy a avisarle al chofer," proposed the elder man.

The conductor came to see if the junkie were ok. He tried to be ok. For the good of his girlfriend and the commuters, he behaved ok.

The ride resumed. "Viste que ahí sino tenía nada," said the husband and father.

***********
Whatever is happening in Iran sounds terrible but the New York Times pressure over president Obama is non-sense too and a black man is pissed about it. This is the subway chat, Train A Uptown, around Fulton Street Station:

"Don't blame the president you coward...take your stinky ass there and stop that thing yourself!"

He got off in West 4 Street. His substitute was a trumpetist who played some tunes over a recorded track. He was less trouble and committed, but somehow soothed the A Train Uptown.