Dan Antion

One is All it Takes – #WATWB

This might be a strange little post for WATWB. I was alerted to a Twitter Tweet Stream earlier in April by a person I follow who said:

“This is the nicest story I’ve read in a long time.”

Who could resist?

It’s a story, written originally as a series of tweets, by a woman who agreed to stay on a subway with another woman who was in the early stages of having a seizure. The writer not only stays with the woman but walks her home and makes sure she is safe and secure. There are so many issues at play in this story, and some are scary:

“I’m a big sister and a woman in the world. I’m either sitting with her until she’s completely ready to get up and walk away on her own or we’re gonna move together in shifts until she gets to her front door.

There’s no way I’m leaving an 18-year-old on a subway platform alone.

She just needs to make it up the stairs. She says her condo is right outside the exit. Offer to walk her up the stairs, at least. She asks if I’m sure and says again that she doesn’t want to bother me. We go slow and chat. This is her first seizure today, but yesterday she had 2.”

I copied the tweet-stream, thinking that I’d share it for WATWB. I went back and checked, yesterday, and the author, the woman who had stepped up and helped the woman in need had asked people specifically not to do that. She said that if the woman she had helped wanted the tweet-stream removed, she (the author) would oblige. So, I obliged. The excerpt above, and the one below is from a blog post the woman who helped has written. The twitter stream is still active, but I’m only going to link to the blog post. That way, if the tweet stream is removed, it will be gone. I urge you to read the blog post, and I’ll leave you with this final thought from the author.

“We built a world where I could hit an emergency alarm button and walk off at my stop, feeling like I just saved this girl’s life, who didn’t need saving, without losing a minute of my day, if I wanted to. We built a world for convenience, not community.”

The gallery includes a number of pictures of subways and subway/train stations. I included them so you might better relate to a young woman, alone, having a seizure while on a subway approaching her station.

The “We are the World” Blogfest is starting its third year. This blogfest’s goal is to spread the message of light, hope and love in today’s world. We are challenging all participants to share the positive side of humanity. This month’s co-hosts: Lizbeth Hartz, Peter Nena, Shilpa Garg, Eric Lahti, and Inderpreet Kaur Uppal welcome participants and encourage all to join in during future months. #WATWB is a blog hop on the last Friday of every month. Click HERE to check out the intention and rules of the blogfest and feel free to sign up at any time.

The Red Line form Union Station in Washington, DC to Silver Spring. I seem to be alone.
I always love the view going into the Metro Station under Union Station in DC.
Washington, DC’s Union Station
As close to the Twilight Zone as I’ve been. The train moved for about 8 minutes than returned to the station.
Home town station isn’t much to talk about but it was a pretty morning.
The E-train is arriving. From 3rd and Lexington to Penn Station will be about 20 minutes.
Train 494, the 7:35 that’s showing as ‘On Time’ will never leave the station tonight.
I’m waiting for the northbound train. That’s the southbound heading into the station.
Construction is still underway at the new Berlin station.
Meriden’s expanded station.
From Tufts Medical Center to State – easy peasy.
To avoid the possibility of rain on the way in, I took the ‘T’ – it’s good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have notices the State House.
Grand Central Station
Heading to track #12 – Union Station, New Haven, CT
Not a door, more like a portal. Dupont Circle Metro station
My train approaches the “station”
Coming up to Union Station from the Metro.
Later this night, I would really appreciate this escalator down to the subway platform in NYC.

60 comments

  1. One of my favourite songs includes the lines “If our days could be filled with small rebellions / Senseless, brutal acts of kindness from us all”. Acts like this always make me think of that song. Imagine the world we would be living in if everyone focussed on kindness.

    I love underground trains. I could roam around on the London Underground all day. Unfortunately, the nearest one to me consists of a whole four stations. And I have to travel for an hour to get there.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Some of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done were small acts of kindness. When you consider how good it makes you feel when you help someone, I’m not sure you can figure out who’s getting the bigger benefit.

      I have to travel to NYC or Boston to get on a subway. At least I have a loce above-ground train to ride.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Thank you! I enjoy participating in this blogfest. I think this story is in keeping with the title – we are the world – ultimately, it comes down to people.

      Like

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    • That (LIRR) might be the only transit system I haven’t been on in this area. I lived in Queens for a year, near the end of the line for the E and F trains. I still take the train into NYC. I drive to Boston, but if I’m in the city, I pick a hotel next to a T stop.

      Liked by 1 person

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  6. Hi Dan – what a wonderful story to read about … I wouldn’t know what to do, but I’d stick around and help and on occasions have done that. I do hope all is well with the ‘girl’ with her seizures … thank you – these stories make my heart sing – cheers Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Gosh, Dan–this is the kind of story that stays with you. Her comment about being conditioned to call 911….yesterday a client called 911 for an employee who cut his hand. “there was a lot of blood!” 911 carried this guy to the ER only for them to clean it up and give him 2 sutures. This story…how remarkable are both of these woman. I am humbled.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Lois. It’s so easy to read this story and insert friends and family into the picture. You hope that if the time comes, you will be able to help, or, if you need help, that someone will be there.

      My daughter hikes a lot, and completed a wilderness first aid course and was recently re-certified. She helped a woman who was hiking and was having problems (perhaps just tired) that we encountered.

      I’ve been dragged to the ER for stitches, and it’s comforting knowing that help has arrived and that you’re going to be OK.

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  8. Such a powerful read. I cannot imagine the daily challenges this woman faces.

    We went to my grandson’s track meet last night. One of the runners collapsed at the finish line. People did not react as quickly as this mom’s instinct wanted. Luckily he was okay as this is something he is challenged with frequently. It was hard to watch and glad the young man was okay.

    I love trains. They appear often in my writing.

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. Thank you for bringing this story to our attention. Erryn’s blog is a truly powerful read. I can’t even imagine the level of courage and perseverance it takes for this young woman to live her day-to-day life. So happy that, with Erryn’s help, she got home safely. I am in awe of both these women!

    Great shots of subway and train stations. Funny, in your shots they look sparkling clean. But on the news ……well, they look just the opposite!! Lol.

    See ya at the bar tomorrow! 🤗
    🐾Ginger 🐾

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Ginger. The Twitter stream was even more intense. The woman clearly manages in a world that would challenge most of us. I was glad to read how the woman helped her, her thoughts and her decisions along the way. There are so many things we just don’t think about.

      I’m laughing about your comment on the condition of the subways. The long escalator up from the NYC subway is so grimy I hardly even want to touch the handrail. I think I’d rather fall.

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  16. I maybe just needed to read something like that today. I really hope the girl on the train always finds someone nice, because that has got to be, on more than one level, a terrifying reality to live in. I think we’re better than the world lets on — better than a lot of sad, negative humans think we are, but we probably do need to share more stories about humanity and community. Great choice, great share, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Joey. When I started following the Tweets, I knew I wanted to share this. I’m so glad she did a blog post, because I do respect the girl-on-the-train’s privacy, but I wanted to make people aware.

      We are better than what we read/watch.

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  17. This the sort of thing we should be reading about, at least as often as possible, instead of all the awfulness and evil. That might encourage others to be open to helping and creating community. Many people have little real contact and community, so everything we can do to increase it is a blessing.

    janet

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    • Thanks Janet. I agree. I think these stories are out there, but I think more people should feel comfortable helping others. We’re becoming conditioned to think that “there’s an agency/group/service that will deal with this.” I recently got recertified for first-aid & CPR and I was amazed at how much less first-aid they taught. I asked the instructor after class and she said “they want to emphasize the need to call 911.”

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  18. Wow, Dan, that was so powerful and so kind of you to share the link to the story to spread the word. I’m touched, truly touched by the messages on your post as well as hers. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

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  19. Dan, this is in no way a strange post. It is a wonderful and perfect post for #WATWB. I love how the author stresses community (people) over convenience and it makes me want to be more like her – willing to stop what I’m doing and worrying about myself in order to help someone in need. Her post brought me to tear and I know she didn’t want to think of either her or the 18 year old as courageous, but I do. Not in the sense of being heroic, but in embracing the latin root of courage, which is “heart.”

    Liked by 1 person

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  20. How have I never heard of #WATWB? I will be back. This story and others like it restores my faith in humanity. Sometimes it’s the dark stories that get the front row seat. We need more light. Thanks so much Dan for shining a spotlight on this one. Those two women are etched in my brain. Humble heroes. Both of them.

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  22. “We built a world for convenience, not community.”
    This is so true and so thoughtful. The woman who helped the young girl has so much love in her heart, so much kindness and respect for another human being. Thank you for sharing this story.

    PS: the floor of the coach in the photo captioned ‘Red Line from Union Station in Washington, DC to Silver Spring’ is amazing; so is the roof of the Metro Station.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Peter. This was such a great story to read. I think it shows that there still are good people out there. I’m glad you like those pictures. They are beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to be in them while suffering a seizure.

      Liked by 1 person

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  26. Not a strange little post. More a perfect and powerful view of coping with challenges. Sure puts things in a different perspective. It’s interesting what she writes about calling emergency services being the worst thing she could have done. It’s what we normally think of. But oh the cost in money and time when she just wanted to go home.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks JoAnna. I should have edited that opening. It was going to be a strange post, when I was going to cut and paste the Twitter stream as the “article” – I’m glad I checked, and I’m glad she wrote a blog post about the experience. It’s always a hard decision when it comes to calling those services. This night, it seemed what that young girl needed most was one caring person.

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  27. The only time I used a subway system was when I was fifteen in NYC. It was new, exciting, and kind of claustrophobic. That was way back in 1970. Was there the “bad element” then? I don’t have a clue.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I’m not sure about 1970. I lived in Queens in 1977 and the subway seemed dicey, but we never had any trouble. We’ve had some memorable experiences on the subway in NYC, but nothing scary.

      Liked by 1 person

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