reach out and touch someone.

oUt oF sErViCe.

well, i am very lucky and some stranger is both very kind and most likely crazy.

this morning, somewhere around 5:45am, in a moment of sheer brilliance and coordination, i more or less threw my cell phone onto the subway tracks at the lorimer station. it happened in slow motion. i heard my phone, which was safely tucked in the front right pocket of my bag, make that awful chirping sound it makes when it loses service and i got pissed because i knew i had checked to make sure it was on vibrate before i left my apartment for the very reason that i hate the chirping sound and i hate disturbing the silence of the subway station in the morning with that noise. i double checked, in fact, and, yet, it chirped. the fucking phone fucking chirped. i cannot win with this phone. it never keeps a charge for a consistent period of time. it suddenly and without warning shuts itself off. it occasionally takes up to 72 hours to send or receive a text message. the phone and i were not on good terms before this morning’s incident and, so, i reacted in anger to the chirping sound as i walked down the platform at the lorimer station and decided i needed to see how this could possibly be happening with the phone on vibrate. while i continued on my way along the edge of the platform so i could try to see if by any small miracle an L train was headed my way. with gloves on and laden with bags. i no sooner got the phone out of the pocket when it, not surprisingly, slipped right out of my gloved fingers…i watched it land on the strip of yellow at the very edge of the platform, halfheartedly tried to kick my foot out to stop it (like it was a soccerball?), as it bounced and spun right off the edge and onto the tracks. i uttered something to the effect of “shit” and stood there at the edge looking down at my phone. i was surprisingly calm. momentarily i thought, “maybe i should go after it?” then i thought, “what the fuck am i thinking? it’s just a phone, and i was an idiot and dropped it and now i have to live with it and buy a new phone.” so i stood there, frozen, serene, numb, silently saying goodbye to my phone when a stranger, who has watched the whole scene unfold, comes over to the edge of the platform, standing next to me, and asks if i would like him to go get it. ??? i said no. in fact, i said, “no, please, it’s okay. it's not worth the risk. it's just a phone.” momentarily it seemed like he wasn’t going to go after it. and i was relieved. subway tracks scare the shit out of me. but, then, suddenly, he was at the edge of the platform giving a glance to see if the train was coming, taking off his coat and gloves, and hopping down onto the tracks. no shit. he hopped down, picked up the phone and handed it to me, and then boosted himself back up again. i was in shock and at a total loss. what does one even do in such a situation? i thanked him profusely. but was i supposed to give him something, offer him something in return? i mean, he did, after all, just go down onto subway tracks to retrieve my phone. he doesn’t know me from a whole in the wall and had a train come he would have been shit out of luck. and still he took that risk so that i could have my phone. the math there doesn’t seem to add up. the risk/reward ratio seems a little off. i don’t know though, maybe this guy really likes phones and a cell phone has a lot higher value to him than to me. had i dropped my baby or an irreplaceable family heirloom, it would have been a different story, but, really, it was just my phone. none of which is to negate the kindness and generosity of this guy. i do truly appreciate his gesture and the risk he took for me. and it is astonishing to be the recipient of such a random and selfless act of kindness from a stranger. especially before 6:00am on a tuesday at the lorimer station in williamsburg.