Mike pens 500-word article on commuting for Fairfield Magazine

Mike recently contracted with Fairfield magazine (5x/yr), a lifestyle magazine for and about the town of Fairfield, CT, to pen an article with vignettes about local commuting experiences. For the article, Mike e-blasted all of his known local commuter friends to dig deep for their best stories. The resulting article featured the three best submissions, which Mike finessed for both fit and content, as well as supplied creative subheadings. The article will appear in the May/June 2010 issue. See below for an advance peek:

No Ordinary Commute

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2010. All rights reserved.

3/5/10

FAIRFIELD MAGAZINE

May/June 2010 issue

For many of us who ride the train to and from Fairfield, the trip is uneventful – even mundane. Then, there are those other times…

Musical Muppets

It was mid-morning on Halloween and Fran, her husband and their two elementary school-aged girls were bound for a football game at Fordham University. They were running late and a little on edge knowing that they’d need to get home quickly afterwards for trick-or-treating. Initially unable to find four seats together, they started to move to the next car. Coming the other direction, a band of young adults dressed as Sesame Street muppets -- Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch -- quite suddenly burst into the show’s theme song, "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?" Everyone in the car was immediately elevated to a different place and a cheery Sesame Street vibe resulted.

Tunnel Vision

It was August 2003. Maryann had been in the city all morning and was returning home. Five minutes in, while still underground, the train lost power and came to a halt. She thought little about it as this was common and expected the ride to resume shortly.

“Ladies and gentlemen. There’s been a major power outage along the East coast,” the conductor announced.

The immediate thought was terrorism, though passengers just busied themselves chatting, awaiting further word. Ultimately everyone filed from the idle train to an emergency exit and the street.

They were in the East 80’s. With cell lines jammed, Maryann phoned her husband from a pay phone. He arranged an overnight at a friend’s apartment on the West side. In high heels, she made the 20-block trek to the 9^th floor flat. Other stranded friends joined them and soon they were enjoying melting ice cream on a terrace and surveying the dark city, only the indomitable Trump “T” visible in the distance.

Snakes On A Train

It was the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. The 4:54 out of Stamford was packed. Shortly after Amy boarded, two men and a young woman with a 'dog' in tow stepped on.

The woman was very pregnant. Amy offered her seat. They were headed from Maine to Colorado to tell relatives the joyous news.

Amy noticed the ‘dog’ looked stressed and offered some water. “He’s fine,” the woman said, “just edgy from the train and an elevator ride at the station.” She continued, “We’re saving him from being put down… as he’s half-wolf. And if you think the dog’s hot and bothered, that’s nothing compared to what the python in my bag is feeling.”

The ENTIRE car fell silent. “Did you say you had a snake in your bag?” Amy asked. “Yes, it’s a Ball Python. But don't worry, my bag is zipped… it can't get out.”

Amy recalled another commute wherein she saw a young man throwing up into a baseball cap while holding a bouquet of roses… but that’s a story for another day.