A nicely written account of the transit strike: Uptown and Back Via Vespa

I think you may need to be a subscriber...

http://select.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/opinion/21beller.html

Uptown and Back Via Vespa
By THOMAS BELLER
Published: December 20, 2005

It was 11:30 in the morning when I peered out my window, getting ready to run my errand. I was expecting something apocalyptic, the street thronged with people practically sightless beneath scarves and hats, jostling. But the sidewalk below my window was empty. I live in the gorgeous, dainty West Village, a neighborhood nearly sugar glazed with money. Not a business zone, but still. "Where was everyone?" I thought. "Maybe it's the cold?"

My errand would take me to the Upper East Side. I was traveling by Vespa. I went straight down 11th Street to the West Side Highway. There was the wide Hudson spread out, empty and open, peaceful. For a moment, heading uptown, I sensed a dense throb of congestion, and wondered if the traffic would be bumper to bumper. There was a dense moil around 14th Street, but then things opened up. The Hudson was placid besides me. I rolled onwards.

more...

Shit, Shit, Shit, SHit, Shit...


So, subscribers, is it really worth it?