The X37 Bus
The X37 Express Bus provides Bay Ridge, Brooklyn commuters with an uncomplicated and relatively quick ride to and from Manhattan. The route runs from the tip of Bay Ridge, near the Verrazano Bridge, to West 57th and Madison in the city, and “goes express” along the Gowanus Expressway and the FDR Drive.
To ride the X37, you can buy a weekly unlimited Express Bus pass for $41, which provides some savings over paying the full fare of $5 for each trip. Most days my commute takes about 50 minutes, which isn’t too bad. But what makes the daily trip palatable for me is watching the cast of wacky characters who appear in various roles on the commute.
Almost weekly there is one annoying chickie who spends the entire bus ride talking into a cell phone about her drunken night out. I’ll spare you from those details. And there is the corresponding older lady (usually a smoker, for some reason) who growls about the noise. “Get of the (expletive) phone!” A little crazy, but I appreciate her service to the public.
There are the couples who make out on the bus at 8:00 am. Seriously. And the occasional teens who get sick and throw up. Nice. There are also my favorite ladies: the women who do their full make-up during the commute. I love watching their technique as we roll over potholes and thrust forward at a sudden red light.
Today, my commute was exactly 45 minutes from door to door. I chose a seat behind a woman who had her hair sectioned and pinned up with bobby pins, presumably to allow it to take on a wavy curl as it dried during the commute. She spent about 25 minutes doing her face — which included foundation, concealer, blush and mascara. I snuck a peek at her as I was getting off at my stop. She looked gorgeous.
Deliveries and Dogs
I saw a sign near the entrance of an old co-op building in my neighborhood that said: “All deliveries and dogs must enter through the back entrance.”
This made me think of the photos taken during the Civil Rights era of signs posted in restaurants and public areas. Humanity has advanced since those days, but that sign underscores the challenges of pet ownership in a place like New York City. Does it make sense that dogs and their owners must pass through a different doorway in a pet-friendly building?
Pet owners are definitely treated like second-class citizens in some parts of the city, despite what this New York Times article says about the Big Apple being voted as the nation’s “pet friendliest” city.
sammysanchez