Comments on: Everybody loves a choo-choo

Everybody loves a choo-choo

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:52:27 -0800

The Boys and the Subway A father's artistic account of his sons' love of the NYC subway system.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:02:04 -0800

That is adorable.

By: peep

peep — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:02:24 -0800

Very sweet and funny!

By: dersins

dersins — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:03:17 -0800

That's wonderful. Love it!

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:09:35 -0800

Hey, I know that family!

By: defenestration

defenestration — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:11:17 -0800

I love it. Thanks.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:14:00 -0800

And very true. As a young kid in New York, I saw the subway as a kind of magic cave. My favorite experience was standing in the front car and staring out the window as the tunnel rushed at me (new trains don't give one the same view, alas). Darkness, mystery, danger, machines - it was great fun for a boy.

By: spec80

spec80 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:15:17 -0800

That is freaking precious.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:19:17 -0800

That's pretty damn cool. I'm very jealous of kids that grew up with NY subway system. As a kid growing up in the Chicago suburbs there weren't many options other than where my parents would drive. I'm amazed when I hear from friends that grew up in NYC (or even Chicago) and they talk about being pretty young and knowing how to get anywhere in the city. I was in my mid 30's when I first went to NY and rode the subways and I was excited, I couldn't imagine how cool it have been as a boy.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:19:53 -0800

That is awesome. My kids love the subway too, but not that much.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:20:51 -0800

Such is the magic of 5-year-old boys. Excellent find!

By: silby

silby — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:21:17 -0800

I wish everyone really did love trains this much. Maybe if gas prices hit $6 a gallon and airlines start charging you fees for your pocket contents we'll get some movement on high-speed rail networks in this country. </pipedream>

By: everichon

everichon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:35:54 -0800

Excellent. This would have been me, had I grown up in NYC. My sister enjoys pointing and laughing at me for my mild preoccupation with airport codes.

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:43:20 -0800

Great post. I felt this way about the Moscow subway system when I was a kid.

By: kittyprecious

kittyprecious — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:43:21 -0800

You got your heartwarming in my MetaFilter! It feels weird. But seriously, having grown up in a small city at least an hour from the nearest major metropolitan area, the bus system was my favorite playground. I can only imagine how amazing having access to a subway system would've been.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:48:38 -0800

The A train pulled in, and Gustav (who had been hoping for the C) started throwing a fit. However, the other passengers in the car gave me warm smiles. I guess they hadn't seen that many 3-year-olds sobbing, "Local...I want the local." What's funny about that story is that I seem to recall a very similar story being sent into OverheardInNewYork. Trying to find it, but having little luck. Wonder if it was them.

By: davejay

davejay — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:55:03 -0800

Unbelievably great; I hope he has those pictures framed and hung somewhere. Being in LA, my kids do love the subway, but there's nothing much of interest going on there and we rarely ride it; it's significantly less magical. but I let my not-quite-three-year-olds try Sonic the Hedgehog last night, and within fifteen minutes my son could get all the way through the first level without help except for the loop-de-loop parts. again, significantly less magical. i don't think the NYT wants to hear about that.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:56:44 -0800

Awesome. Thanks for posting this. My favorite part: The A train pulled in, and Gustav (who had been hoping for the C) started throwing a fit. However, the other passengers in the car gave me warm smiles. I guess they hadn't seen that many 3-year-olds sobbing, "Local...I want the local."

By: davejay

davejay — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:56:52 -0800

Oh, and when we visit New York, they're enthralled by everything. There's just something about it that kids love.

By: Kwine

Kwine — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:02:02 -0800

Awesome post!

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:02:43 -0800

Hopefully not like this guy.

By: rmless

rmless — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:13:02 -0800

Back before the days of security, my Dad used to take toddler-me to the airport to watch planes taking off and landing, which was better to me than any tv show.

By: decagon

decagon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:14:45 -0800

(or this guy)

By: Spatch

Spatch — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:06:34 -0800

A chaperone on one of Arthur's school trips told me something he overheard when all the kids were neatly lined up in rows of two. The girl holding Arthur's hand asked him, "Have you heard of Peter Pan?" "No," he replied, "have you heard of Metro North?" Laugh now, but I can honestly say that line will work for him some day.

By: phrontist

phrontist — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:16:49 -0800

This is wonderful. I have a NYC subway map hanging over my monitor right now, and DC metro one above that (my family lives in DC). This reminds me how badly I want to live in NYC.

By: caddis

caddis — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:18:18 -0800

Great! Great! Great!

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:51:30 -0800

Hopefully not like this guy I'm guessing I meant that from his family's perspective. He's livin' the dream,.

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:04:25 -0800

TPS: There is this.

By: suelange

suelange — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:05:22 -0800

"We often go to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. They have a little children's garden that the boys love. Arthur and Gustav's favorite spot is a little gap between some bushes, from which you can see the Franklin Avenue shuttle train go by." That one is precious.

By: EatTheWeak

EatTheWeak — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:10:49 -0800

That was wonderful! "local ... i want the local." Priceless!

By: Belle O'Cosity

Belle O'Cosity — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:49:57 -0800

I loved this so much. The kids' love of the metro was great, but the dad's obvious joy was lovely too. The illustrations were so perfect, a child's perspective so wonderfully illustrated in a primitive yet sophisticated way, incorporating the signage graphic context. And, Fritz!

By: painquale

painquale — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:08:51 -0800

A conductor once let me blast the horn as we went over a bridge. It was great. I love this post.

By: stargell

stargell — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:37:55 -0800

When my son was a toddler, he had a Sesame Street radio that played "Frere Jacques" strapped to his stroller. We were on the 1 headed downtown one evening, and at 103rd (near the AYH hostel) about 40 French tourists got in our car. When my boy hit the button on his toy to play "Frere Jacques," the whole car started singing along in French. Then they all continued to sing French songs that I couldn't recognize for the next several stops. When the train reached 66th, these dozens of rollicking French tourists emptied out, still singing, leaving a handful of dumbfounded New Yorkers. My boy's thing was the buses. "Dad, Dad, the M60!" "Dad, Dad, NOT IN SERVICE!!!!"

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:45:17 -0800

Great link TPS, thanks.

By: ocha-no-mizu

ocha-no-mizu — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:54:44 -0800

TPS, I also found this.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:06:16 -0800

The comments are almost the best part, especially from the older folk: Oh yes. . . it was the late 30's . . . can't believe it . . . and I was a child on the subway with my Mom. The trip was total adventure from Lafayette and Clinton to 34th Street - down the stairs, under the turnstyle, watching the people, feeling the scratchy woven seats, whoshing through the underground tunnels, the long ride up the escalator and my small self with tiny white gloves and patent leather shoes and "Don't put your hands on your mouth." It was a monthly trip to Altman's or Best's with lunch at Schrafft's and vanilla ice cream with butterscotch sauce. But the underground ride on the subway . . . the best - combining the bright outer world of city streets and the dark, creepy world beneath. It was everything a child could want; it still replays in memory. and this one is a man after my own heart: Do your sons know about 18th St. and 91st St. and the other Ghost Stations? Those stations are where the ghosts, who work at Horn & Hardart, B. Altmans, Dubrow's Cafeteria, and other places, commute to & from.