---- continued from Subway Adventure Part 2
Lowel and I looked at each other and said something like "holy crap."
We picked up the pace as fast as we could without falling off the ledge, but knew that it was hopeless; if the train was coming from behind us, it would certainly get to us before we got to the Atlantic Avenue station.
As we moved along we kept stealing glances behind us. The sound of the train had diminished some, but if indeed it was behind us, that was probably only because it had stopped at the Dekalb Avenue station to leave off and take on more passengers. No doubt it would start up again very soon.
As I mentioned earlier, Lowel and I had occasionally passed rectangular openings in the tunnel walls to our right, about the size of small doors. We hadn't been able to see too far into them, due to the darkness. We thought that now might be an ideal time for us to investigate. When we got to the next one I reached my arm in, to gauge the depth, and found that it was only about a foot deep and two feet wide. That wasn't large enough to shelter the both of us so we took a gamble and moved on ahead in hopes of finding another. After we had moved forward about 20 paces, the sound of the train started up again.
The sound started as a low rumble, then built. Lowel and I nearly tripped over ourselves, and off the side, as we now ran as fast as we could go on the ledge. Suddenly the headlights from the train rounded the bend behind us and our worst fears were confirmed. In a matter of seconds the train would be upon us.
Talk about terror. Here we were; two 12 year old kids having made a horrible mistake by venturing into a subway tunnel. Now we were screwed. In a split-second, various thoughts ran through my mind; If we were to simply turn sideways on the ledge, what would happen? Well, the train would pass by us by inches - barely missing our noses. It might be OK, but... Coincidentally, we had recently learned about the Venturi effect and Bernoulli's principle in science class. This lesson suddenly popped into my mind. Is it posible that we would get sucked off the wall right into the side of the train? Meanwhile the train was getting closer. "Holy Crap!"
The closer the train got, the louder it became. It was LOUD and getting louder by the second. Another thing that happened as the train got closer was that the headlight on the train got brighter. As the headlight became brighter, it was uncomfortable to look at, so Lowel and I reluctantly turned away from the train and towards the Atlantic Avenue station again. It's never good to have 'bad' at your back but...
To our surprise, the headlight from the train served a positive purpose too; to illuminate the way ahead. There, only a few feet in front of us, was another rectangular opening. With the headlight shining from behind us we were able to see that this opening was deeper than the last. It would hold Lowel and I, if only we could get there in time.
Just then, the train horn blew. As if it wasn't loud enough already... But this was a bad sign. It meant that the engineer piloting the train had seen us. If we didn't get killed at least we could look forward to being in trouble - great. But judging by the sound building behind us, he was too close now to slow down.
Miracles do happen - even to stupid and mischievous 12-year-olds. With the combined sounds of the steel wheels grinding against the rails and the train horn screaming behind us, Lowel and I managed to reach the opening in the wall right before the train reached us. We got ourselves into the opening and turned to face the train, while holding onto the frame of the doorway, to avoid being sucked out.
Talk about an assault on the senses. We were totally deafened, and nearly blinded by the flashing lights from the train windows contrasting with the darkness of the tunnel. Luckily neither the Venturi effect or Bernoulli's principle manifested themselves against us, probably because we were holding on so tight that we were virtually frozen to the wall.
The train was moving so fast that it was all over in about 10 seconds and the engineer never stopped the train. Lowel and I managed to extract our fingers from the walls and moved back out onto the ledge, just in time to see the rear end of the train stop in the Atlantic Avenue station ahead. With all the looking behind us we didn't realize that we were almost there.
Before we got to the Atlantic Avenue station, the train pulled out, leaving a deserted station behind it. With our hearts still beating a-mile-a-minute, Lowel and I stepped over the "Do Not Cross" chain and entered the platform area. No police waited for us. No transit employees. We were alone. We stepped back onto the platform and waited for the next train.
Every time I have ridden in a subway since then, and have had the pleasure of being in the front car, I look out the front window.
So far I haven't see anyone out there on the ledge - as stupid as Lowel and I were that day after school in the 7th grade.
9 comments:
You had me holding my breath for
"ya's". In book form this would be a real page-turner!
Since you guys learned that you could survive underground, and you now knew the layout of the tunnel, were you ever tempted to try it again, I wonder.
Joyce
Joyce,
Hey, thanks for your comments. The story was kind of a long one so I figured I'd do a little test with serialization. Re going back underground again... No way. Experiencing it once was enough.
Have you kept in touch with Maryellen G? I saw her, David G and their mom and dad a few years ago at Wesley's funeral. Very sad.
I have a very clear memory of you while I was growing up. You were one of the cute 8th girls (along with Maryellen) that all us little kids had crushes on.
If you have the time - or desire - please forward the blog to your other Brooklyn friends. It's great to get the feedback and it would be great to have someone else's memories in there too.
Hopefully I'll talk to you soon,
Dave
Great touch for the dramatic. How about the readers digest verson.David and Lowel(Me) were on a usual train ride somewhere ,school or home.Both boys always curious and adventurous. Dave says my cousin told me you can flatten a penny on the train tracks and make a guitar pick.The plan was hatched.We went to the front of the platform ,waited for the train to leave the station ,then jumped down onto the tracks.We had plenty of time to place our pennies on the tracks and jump back onto the platform for safety before the next train came.The train roared into the station as we waited with excitement and anticipation.The train came to a slow stop and then we heard a loud CLICK CLICK when the wheels ran over the coins.WOW We could hardley contain ourselves waiting for the train to leave the station.We jumped down on to the tracks in a air turbulance caused by the exiting train.Our scientific curiosity was satified holding up our newley flattened pennies.But what of adventure? Standing on the tracks looking at the pennies we could see past our hands to the tunnel the train had just gone through.The faint light of the next station could be seen distant in the tunnel.It beckoned us.We looked at eachother-you think we can make it-Yea-we have time before the next train comes .We knew want had to be done. We flew up on a maintenence ledge we believed ran the length of the tunnel .Hearts pounding ,breath racing we battled the taboo and danger of the tunel.Roaring trains passing express on the other tracks were louder than the platform had ever been.Blue erie lights,dripping water,curious sounds ,shadows and rats and maybe the cops.Our adventure ended on the next platform as we blew into the brightly lit station expecting possible arrest only to find an empty station platform.There we were--Our cuirosity and need for anventure were satified.With egos bolstered from conquering the tunnel and a bright newly flattned penny in hand we continued our journey home. What a great child hood memory. PS. One of those blue lights found its way to my bed room during those dayglow psycodelic days. PPS.This got to be a longer verson than I thought.
Lowel,
Great condensed version for the aerobic reader. But what about the train going by on OUR side of the tracks? I don't think I'll ever forget that.
And I don't remember you snatching that blue light.
Funny how time distorts - and we've always been pretty distorted, my brother.
Thanks for posting on the blog. Keep 'em coming.
Dave
Time passes and memories are like blips or passing visions.We all have impressions .I marvel that I can remember anything at all, often forgetting what I had for breakfast. PS. The bulb came into my posession on a subsiquent lone adventure.I dont recommend those lone adventures.
SHOOT, I feel left out I didn't get to flatten a penny!!!!!! You Two guys had a WONDERFUL experience that you BOTH remember from nearly forty years ago, THANK GOD FOR THAT!!!! But again, I'm jealous I wasn't there, but who knows, if it had been the three of us, the "bravado" might have been amped up at least another thirty three percent and we might not all be here to joke and talk about this great memory. LOVE YOU GUYS.
James G.
James,
Ironic that your first response should be "shoot". If you remember, it was in Brooklyn, at the apartment house where we both lived, that we found that 22 bullet, and then proceeded to try, Bugs Bunny style, to set it off with a brick. Fortunately, it was so deformed by the time it went off, that it blew the back out of the case, rather than the bullet out of the front. So, you didn't miss ALL the adventure.
As for the pennies on the tracks, where we (me and Ted) were in Staten Island, wasn't too far from the SIRT, Staten Island's only rail service, and more than once we put pennies on the track. (The SIRT track were more or less open in places, ands above ground.) And Doris tells me that she and others from Jackson Heights school used to play down by the tracks there, after school, waiting for Pathfinders to start. So, it seems that it was a general childhood thing. (I assume kids living in rural areas discover this sort of fun much younger than we do.)
Anyway, after reading the article, and thinking about it, I was reminded of a story my father told me. When he was a kid, (teenager? young adult?) they used to do something like that, only on the trolley tracks. They used to lay a section of pipe down next to the track, in the space between the track and the street. He said the heavier trolley cars would simply flatten the pipe, but some of the lighter ones would "derail", meaning, come off the tracks enough that they would have to get out and maneuver it back and forth to get it back on, which was, of course, the object of the whole thing. I imagine kids have been doing this ever since railroad tracks were invented.
Dave, James, etc,
I find it unlikely that my earlier note will come to your attention, as I am responding to a 12 year old post. But, hey, you never know.
jb
Jon H,
Thanks for your message from the past. I remember you guys telling stories about the bullet but the others are new. You’re right. None of us missed anything. But it shows to go you:
Kids are friggin’ crazy.
DC
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