Mickey

It's been too long, and that's all I have to say about that. : )

Without further ado, meet Mickey Kramer. I met Mickey on the platform at Penn Station, waiting for the F train after a long day. He made me smile, and I hope he makes you smile, too.

(Please accept my apologies: I apparently video with approximately the skill of a drunken ape and I can't figure out how to rotate the windows on Blogger! Aye, technology...)

Catherine

Saturday I met Catherine. She and four friends were laughing and generally having a good time on the train and their energy sort of struck me. I usually gravitate a little more towards people who are sort of quiet, by themselves, but "open-looking"- people who seem like kindred spirits who are in the right frame of mind to appreciate the whole onthetwo endeavor.

And then sometimes I just kind of see people I think I'd like, and I go for it. Catherine and her friends had great energy, and after a long, long Saturday, I wanted in on it : )

Lucky for me, they were happy to oblige.

About Catherine:

Favorite Food: plantains with fried cheese and eggs

Favorite Movie: Saw IV

This sparked a movie discussion. Catherine and friends were on their way to the theater, debating between The Strangers and The Happening. One friend was pushing for Made of Honor, and I, avidly anti-scary movie, was totally with her, but I sort of got the feeling it wasn't going to happen.

Catherine promised me she'd check in at onthetwo to see her post and let me know what they ended up seeing. I know it's sort of a silly thing, but there's something about having made a connection, however small, that endures, even if only for a few days, via comments on a blog. Something magical in the idea that hey, I met a real person, who is out in the world existing! Going to movies! I don't know. I'm not sure that quite captures the spirit of what I'm trying to say...I'll work on it later, see if I can rearrange some words or thoughts or come up with some other ones to make what I'm thinking more clear. Writing is fun, and important. But not always easy. Anyway, Catherine, if you get here, I hope you guys ended up having a good time and seeing something good. Give me a shout, say hi, and let me know. : )

Moving on.

Catherine's Favorite thing about New York: "the guys, and how it's so busy and not quiet...and it's up-to-date."

One thing she'd like to tell the world: "I'm too cool for this world."

What I think: She was pretty cool. : )

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.

Stevie

Saturday I met Stevie. She’s from Baltimore, and here in New York studying acting. Stevie’s favorite food is fried green tomatoes, her favorite TV show is House and her favorite movie is Lost in Yonkers. She promises that someday she’ll play the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago.

As you may be able to tell from the pictures (we did a mini photo shoot on the two!), Stevie is fantastically charismatic. I liked this girl. Meeting her, and hearing her talk about her dream and how she’s going to make it happen was completely inspiring. Sitting there on the train, Stevie radiated that kind of glow, the energy of somebody who’s alive and excited and engaged. It was refreshing.

When Stevie told me what she wanted to say to the world, I found myself thinking about something my dad used to say, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Stevie thought for a few moments about what she'd like to say, and when she said it, it was with this certain charming amalgamation of shyness and tenacity.

“Watch out world. I’m coming.”

It wasn’t just her words, but the way she said them, that made me believe in her 110%.

Oh boy(s). Tristan, Claudio, Andrea, Pigu + Vadin and Brad

Last weekend I met…a gaggle of charming young men. : )

[As a side note: I am happy to announce that I recently became engaged. : ) Maybe I’ll take a picture of a pretty ring while I’m riding the subway and post it… Anyway, the point is: I was nevertheless quite charmed by all of the pictured men. Good company all of them. Great company, in fact.]

So here’s the story:

I was in a rush to get somewhere, and I sort of thought onthetwo was going to have to wait. It’s funny how that happens. When you’re in a rush and stressed out, it seems like there isn’t time…for talking to people, for making eye contact, for breathing, for doing much of anything besides looking at your watch, like saying hello and connecting with people will somehow slow you down, and anxiously monitoring the numbers on your watch will somehow make them change more slowly. Or maybe it’s just me. (In which case, I suddenly feel foolish. Well, I guess I already felt foolish. But now foolish, and alone. Wonderful.)

I’m rambling. Back to the story:

So I get on the train. I’m standing at one end, and down at the other end, I see the adorable Andrea taking pictures with his phone. I laugh to myself, as my first thought is, “Must be tourists. Who takes pictures on the train?!?” I know, I know. How do you like irony?

Before I could think too much about it, I sidled my way down to the other end of the train and heard myself explaining onthetwo, handing out cards and telling Andrea I had to feature him, as he was the only other person I’d ever seen taking pictures on the train. As I rambled on, the guy sitting to the right of Andrea looked over with the sweetest, most wonderfully interested eyes I’ve seen in some time. Of course, I had to get him in on the game as well. So, the next thing I knew, I had not one, but four, dashing gentlemen telling me about themselves. And now I’ll share…

From left to right:

Tristan. Tristan just moved to Manhattan from North Carolina. His favorite movie is The Devil Wears Prada and his favorite food is salmon. What Tristan wants to tell you is: “I want some new friends!” He’s new in Manhattan, and doesn’t know anybody yet…check out his myspace page: myspace.com/tristanroderick Seriously. I may have only spent five or ten minutes with him, but it was enough time to know he is great. Look him up. Go get some salmon with him!

Claudio. Claudio (and Andrea and Pigu) was visiting from Italy. I didn’t catch his favorite movie, probably because we got a little caught up discussing his favorite food. For the record, it is steak a la fiorentina. Funny thing. Or me being uncultured, which I prefer to think of as amusing. I couldn’t get the “fiorentina” part. Poor Claudio kept saying it, and I kept saying, “Furrrrwhat? Foreennee? F, O?” Finally, Kris (with a K), the poor girl sitting on the other side of Tristan trying to quietly read her book, chimed in. “Fiorentina. F-i-o-r-e-n-t-i-n-a.” Thank you Kris. (Hey now. I’m a vegetarian, I don’t know about fiorentina. Or something. )

Anyway, moving on. The thing Claudio wanted to say to you: “Find me an apartment in New York!” Apparently he has had a good trip.

Andrea. Andrea’s favorite movie is Minority Report, and his favorite food is lasagna. He is the adorable man who was taking the pictures. If I wasn’t engaged… Well. Andrea’s message for the world is short and sweet: “Peace.”

And Pigu. Pigu’s favorite movie is The Direct Line and his favorite food is sushi. I asked him what his favorite part of New York was, and he told me it was girls like me. Whoooooooo. I try. : ) What he wants to tell you: “Pigu is pigu.” He laughed a devilish little laugh and said that "pigu means something." According to google, it’s a dessert in Italian, and something else in Mandarin…so. Take what you will.

In trying to get back far enough to get all four of my new friends in the picture, I sort of bumped into Vadin and Brad with my shoulder bag. I apologized, and a stop later, after the fabulous four had got off the train, I gave the two of them cards and we started talking onthetwo. They’re both from Florida, and we talked a while about regional differences in this country, and about the importance, or not, of where you’re from and where you end up. Good thoughts. I didn’t really ask the onthetwo questions…sorry. Sometimes lifey talk gets in the way of prescribed interview talk, you know? Time and a place. I almost didn’t take a picture either, as I thought four new onthetwo friends might be enough for one train ride. But then I thought better of it. See below, Vadin on the left, Brad on the right.


I learned something Saturday.

I guess I already knew, but sometimes- okay, often times- I need a reminder. Being kind and enjoying the company of those with whom we share out world does not in fact slow you down. Time just keeps on ticking, same as always, no matter what. When life is slow or when it is fast, when things look sunny or when they look gray, when we feel like things are happening the way we want or not, I think JT says it best: The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time…It’s just a lovely ride.

Evan and Starks

Check out Starks (on the left) and Evan. Pretty awesome.

I met them on my way home last Saturday, and was so impressed I stayed on the subway three stops past my own to record them. And then, not because of them, but because I'm me, when I got on the train to come back, I wasn't paying attention and got on an Express instead of a Local, so I ended up too far downtown, and had to turn around again. It was all worth it. : )

Anyway: in addition to the fact that they're both endowed with some special vocal cords, here's a little about Evan and Starks ("like John Starks, the basketball player").

Evan's favorite movie is Never Ending Story. His favorite food is pizza, particularly pepperoni. He's Bronx born and raised, and one thing he'd like to tell the world is "Life is love."

Starks's favorite movie is Above the Rim, in keeping with the basketball theme. He's a native New Yorker too, but instead of the Bronx, he's Harlem proud. His words for you: "Follow your heart."

I second that. And I want to add, if you do as much, and you sound like these guys, good things are bound to happen. Evan's working on an album he's going to call "Evan Unleashed," and Starks is dreaming up a company called Starks Entertainment. Keep your eyes open. : )

Connie

Last Saturday I met Connie. I overheard her and two friends discussing the play they'd just seen, (If you're interested: Our Dad is in Atlantis) and it sounded so interesting I had to jump in and ask about it. Connie had a program with her which she generously passed on to me. Her friends got off the train shortly after, and before I knew it, I heard myself saying, "I keep this blog..." and onthetwo time began. : )

About Connie:

Favorite Food: Portabello Mushrooms (At least, that's what she's into for now.) (Can I do two sets of parantheses in a row?) (Or three?) (Anyway. Yum. I love portabello mushrooms.)

Favorite Movie: White Christmas

Originally from Oregon, though she's lived in the city for many years.

And the things she'd like to tell the world: "Help each other. Don't beat each other up, just be nice to each other."

Very "onthetwo"-ish.

Thanks Connie : )