nyc vignette: overslept
I was walking across a really long passageway to change trains at the Times Sq-42 St subway, one of the busiest subway stations in the world.
Among the usual informational boards, I see a peculiar message.
OVERSLEPT,
I walk more, and there's another board.
SO TIRED,
It keeps going as I walk more and more.
IF LATE,
People walk with me and past me, and it's all a hazy blur of all kinds of people. Was that fellow singing loudly? No one cares.
GET FIRED.
I find myself pacing ahead quickly, matching the hurried energy of the average commuter in New York while lightly noting that these boards are unusual.
WHY BOTHER?
In the other corner of my eye, I see a grate on the side of the passageway covered with 20 large cockroaches that are all climbing over each other. No one seems to care.
WHY THE PAIN?
Why do these boards exist and how did they get here? I ask myself this, but at this point, I don't question anything I see in this city. To my nonchalant surprise, I also realise I haven't seen a huge rat in this station yet.
JUST GO HOME,
Future me would read about these signs later and learn that this was a temporary art installation that became permanent.
Thirteen years ago, two optimistic college kids in the area would plaster over some of the boards—“Overslept” became “Overexcited,” “So Tired” became “Energized.”
The widow of the artist was very displeased with this. She said: “Why be optimistic in these times? Be realistic—life sucks. You get through it the best you can.” The MTA was quick to restore the artwork.
DO IT AGAIN.
