Ashley Harrell

It’s not that I am a huge fan of riding in subway cars. I’ll be the first to admit that I too frequently take taxis after a late night out, when really I should be saving that money.

Hah, saving money. A foreign concept to New Yorkers my age.

It’s just that… well the subway, at certain times, can be a peaceful retreat from the busy streets above ground. Yes, I know what you are saying… “But Ashley, you work from home. You don’t even have to DEAL with rush hour!” But here is something for you to consider: cell phone reception is completely blocked once in the railway. I would venture to say that about 50% of the talking done by New Yorkers on an average day is into their Blackberry, Chocolate, or various telephone devices named after delicious treats (or not). Once underground, cell phone reception disappears. One might get onto the train, and passengers are silently riding along, perhaps listening to their iPods a little louder than necessary.

Today while riding the train to Park Slope (more on that tomorrow), I noticed a surprisingly peaceful energy in the environment. While observing this, I imagined of the horrific reality that cell phone providers must certainly be making plans to gain reception in these tunnels. Could my peaceful ride to Brooklyn quickly be contaminated by yapping New Yorkers into little boxes of radiation? Ironically, these thoughts entered my mind just as we approached the Canal Street stop in the Lower East Side. Why the irony? After a significant number of individuals stepped inside the train to travel to Brooklyn, the train ascended into the dreary gray sky to cross the East River. As the bleak daylight fell into view, virtually every lemming passenger on the train reached for their respective lemming iPhone and started jabbering away.

My silence was shattered.

I want to be unreachable at times – riding in the subway permits this safe haven. I give it two years before everyone is installed with microchips that work as GPS/phone/internet… that have service underground.

The iHuman.