In a Station of the Metro

I got on the 6 train this morning, turned to face the platform, and I immediately was treated to the spectacle of a man dropping his large suitcase, spilling his papers, in hot pursuit of a kid who had evidently walked away with his other briefcase. The man calmly reclaimed it, and it seemed like a fight was about to ensue when the train car doors closed and we headed downtown. I looked to the guy next to me who gave me shrug and said, 'Guess he stole his briefcase.'

I like those moments in life when something happens and a complete stranger becomes a fellow audience member and critic. This happens a lot to me in the city, where spectacles happen spontaneously, and just as quickly melt back into the flow of crowd.