13 hrs · Edited ·
A most remarkable thing occurred on the T Orange line today...for about 4 or 5...maybe even 6 stops, on a full, slow-moving T train at rush-hour, there was silence. I mean, COMPLETE SILENCE. Like quieter than it normally is in a church! No one was talking. No music. No coughing or laughing. No crying children. No cell conversations. It was profoundly SILENT. Peaceful. Pleasant. It was as if no one dared speak and ruin it. Some people played with their phones, some kept their eyes open without looking at anyone (although one woman smiled at me, noticing me looking around incredulously) and others rested their eyes. Then we got to Downtown Crossing and I remarked how this was the quietest train I'd ever been on, and a few people smiled or laughed softly, but most of us were getting off. I couldn't get over the PEACE.
It also occurred to me that probably nobody in the crowd knew each other. We were all traveling completely alone, with strangers. But there was not even the typical amiable chat one might have at times with strangers. Just the sound of the wheels of the train on the track. By train I mean subway, rapid transit, not commuter rail. Anyway, it was a nice experience, one I'll not soon forget for its rarity and peace.
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