RIDING THE SUBWAY A GLORIOUS NEW WAY OF LIFE.Byline: Tom Waldman LOCAL VIEW THE common view holds that in American politics and entertainment, ideas move from west to east: California leads, and the rest of the country follows. But what's true for property tax revolts, cutting services to illegal immigrants, and curbing affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. is not the case with public transportation. In Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , we are only now discovering the joys of riding the subway. I can hear the residents of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Boston saying it's about time It's About Time may refer to:
In Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , many people still consider the automobile the ultimate symbol of freedom, but I would cast my vote for the subway. I commute 32 miles from the west San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. to downtown, and the best part of the trip without question is beneath the surface; 14 miles from the Universal City station to the stop at Seventh and Hope streets. The view isn't much, but the trains really do run on time. I defy anyone to say the same of a car traveling on the northbound Hollywood Freeway at 5:30 p.m. on a typical Wednesday. I'm fully aware that the subway system will never achieve the lofty status of cars in American popular culture. In rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. , for example, cars symbolize sex, power, and excessive speed, none of which is true of the MTA's Red Line, at least not as of now. Classic songs such as `Maybellene,'' ``Little Deuce Coupe'' and ``Pink Cadillac'' are in no danger of being replaced, and I can't foresee a time when subway clubs are the rage in East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. . But this is of no importance to those of us who regularly ride the subway. We don't need the Beach Boys or Chuck Berry Noun 1. Chuck Berry - United States rock singer (born in 1931) Charles Edward Berry, Berry to tell us how cool we are. Besides, how can it possibly evoke a sense of freedom to be sitting in traffic for 90 minutes each way, five days a week? Listening to Sir Laurence Olivier reading Shakespeare, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or a brilliant recording of Beethoven's 5th Symphony is small consolation for being caught behind a stalled vehicle in the third lane from the right or spectator slowing. On the other hand, those of us who ride the subway hear grim traffic reports and laugh. It's not the misery of others that gives us such pleasure, but the knowledge that we are beating the system. Like an ex-smoker or an ex-overeater, we revel in the knowledge that we have given up a bad habit bad habit Unhealthy habit Clinical medicine A patterned behavior regarded as detrimental to physical or mental health, which is often linked to a lack of self-control. Cf Good habit. - driving to work every day - and become better people as a result. If any of your friends or family has made the switch to the subway, then you will know what I mean. Odds are he or she can't stop telling you about it. The subway is not only good for peace of mind; it's good for the mind, period. I am now able to read 40 minutes more every day, which is the equivalent of something like a book and a half per month. Riding the subway permitted me to finish ``The Corrections'' and a massive history of Mexico Mexico is a country of North America and the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Its history begins with the arrival of the first substantiated indigenous inhabitants 12,500 years ago (with potential settlement as early as 20,000 years ago), to the consolidation of a modern and within a reasonable amount of time. Others are doing the same thing. Outside of the Central Library and independent bookstores, the subway offers the best proof that Los Angeles has its share of serious readers. I have seen people deep into books by Paul Theroux, Isabelle Allende and V.S. Naipaul. The subway also shows the residents of this city to be, on the whole, quite well behaved. Riders rarely if ever argue over available seats, and the young yield to the old, the strong to the weak. In dozens and dozens of trips, I can only recall once when a person played loud music, in violation of the rules. Like any other loyalist, I feel a sense of pride when California sets a trend for the rest of the country, even if it's one with which I don't agree. But in the case of the subway, I'm just as proud that so many of us are willing to go back to the future. |
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