The Greatest Story Never Told

Chapter 6 - Subway Life

Herein lies one of the contributing forces of my transformation from a Nasa wannabe to a criminal. It all began one night, after all of my homeboys and homegirls had gone home for the night. It was late and I wasnt ready to go back to Herbert's place. I decided to just walk the Bushwick streets, alone with nothing but thoughts and darkness. After walking along Myrtle Avenue, I winded up underneath the Central Avenue train station. I stood under a street light as the train pulled into the station platform up above. Bored, and with nothing else to do, I had an epiphany. Why not jump the turnstile and ride the rails? That's what I did. I went in search of adventure...

I waited for the next Manhattan-Bound train to begin pulling in, and as it did, I made my move. I ran up the steps, jumped the turnstile as the fare collected screamed for me to pay my fare, and ran up onto the platform just in time to catch the train. After getting into the empty car, I worked my way up to the first car to take in the view from the front window. I went from station to station, enjoying what I was seeing. It was late and the train car was empty. It was just the conductor and I. I navigated the subway system reading the subway maps thet were posted in each car. I made my way to 42nd Street in Times Square.

When I got there, I walked out of the station to the streets above. When I emerged, the streets were alive with activity. Thousands of people were moving about, the peep shows were doing business, the pimps and prostitutes were everywhere, the lights from all of the movie theaters flashed off and on. Everything was X-Rated. I took a deep breath, and began to walk through Times Square. Talk about true sqaulor. The place was filthy, every perversion was for sale, or if you were willing to trade your flesh, then your flesh was also a commodity. Eight out of every 10 men strolling through with their eyes darting about were either perverts or pedophiles. Within the first hour of my arrival, I was getting hit on left and right. I was fresh meat I guess.

I continued to stroll through the muck and mire that was Times Square. This was Forty-Doo Wop! That's what it was called way back then. Men were in the booths in the peep shows getting blow jobs, boys and girls were turning tricks, sex was clearly king on The Wop. I spent the night just walking around, watching people rob other people at knifepoint, watching pimps beat the hell out of their hookers and stomping out johns that failed to pay the price for services rendered. I watched the dope fiends nodding out in front of the theaters. It was the ultimate reality show. I began to spend a lot of time riding the rails to hang out in Times Square to take in all of the action. Then, at day break, I'd sneak on the train and head back to Herbert's to eat and then sleep. This became my life.

How did I fall into criminality? How did I go from an Henrietta School nerd, to someone on the NYC police department's warrant squad list? It took awhile. I spent a few years of hanging out in Times Square and spending time in Bushwick. I had become a street vagabond, seldom even coming home to Herbert and Odessa. Sometimes they wouldn't see me for a week. I was a runner. Ages 17-20 was a blur. Drinking and smoking weed was the order of the day. I was living on the trains to hang out in Times Square or Coney Island, which became the second place of choice for me, that was all I did. Every single fucking day!

One day I was heading for Bushwick after leaving Herbert's, and I needed to take a leak after reaching the halfway point between Bed-Stuy and Bushwick. As I  walked, I started looking for a place to pee. I came across an abandoned building on Patchen Avenue. After looking around to make sure the coast was clear, I walked inside. I walked all the way to the back of this empty building and found a place to relieve myself. After peeing and zipping up, I started to walk out of this garbage filled apartment. As I was leaving, I kicked garbage out of my way. As a dirty old shopping bag was kicked out of the way, I saw it. A gun lay they. It was dirty and was a little bit wet from the leaking roof I guess. I stopped and picked it up.