Victor

NEWS:

I moved. I don't ride the two anymore. So onthetwo is officially a misnomer. Forgive me. I ride the R most of the time now. But...I already have this domain name, and "onther" just doesn't seem as right to me as onthetwo anyway...so alas, onward and upward we go, misnomer and all.

Let's take it as a symbol of the idea that you can carry forth the spirit of onthetwo anywhere.

Above, see Victor. My new train is one of the older lines in the city, which means the seats are configured in little pairs or triplets at 90 degree angles to one another rather than all the way down two sides of the train car. It's sort of hard to explain, but I kind of like it.

So I sat down next to Victor Sunday afternoon and said hello. Victor's from Romania, but has lived in New York for 42 years. "For a lot longer than you've been alive," he told me. He had a hard time deciding on his favorite food and movie, in both cases because he appreciates so many. After some pondering, he settled upon Italian (for the food) and The Children of Huang Shi, although rather than call it his "favorite" movie, he said it was one of the good ones he's seen recently.

Victor said his favorite part about New York was without a doubt the "cultural life," and talking to him even for just a few minutes, it was evident to me that he really meant it. There was something about what he said and the way he said it that made it clear he really and truly did love not just the food, the movies, but the vibrancy, that is this city. I admire him for remembering to appreciate it.

What Victor wanted to share with the world: "Study, and work hard."

Here was my favorite part of my conversation with Victor:

I have these little cards I hand out when I explain to someone what onthetwo is:



I gave Victor one of my cards, and as I was getting my stuff together to get off the train, he asked me very matter of factly what talking about food and movies had to do with "connecting."

Now, I've been in a little bit of an introspective funk lately, and I keep finding myself stuck on this very simple question: "What matters?" Anyway, this blog isn't really about all of that but I tell you this only so that you might understand why and how Victor's inquiry sort of "got me."

I was a little thrown off.

"Well," I told him. "You know how people usually look on the subway?" Here I paused to do my best weary, lonely, self-protective bubble enclosed impression. "Well. It's...too bad. I think we have to be human! I just want to invite people to say hello, you know?"

I was a little nervous as I wondered if he was getting it.

And then he looked at me and said, "Yes, I do know. I know, and I think it's wonderful."

And just right then, everything was wonderful.