I Met My One on the 1

by Cliff Bond      

I have been riding the subway since I was a little boy. I grew up in Queens and used to take the subway to attend sporting events, go sightseeing and go to work with my dad. I have always loved riding the subway and being able to visit different parts of the city but I never thought I would meet the love of my life underground.

It was about four o’clock on Friday, October 20, 2000, a typical weekday except that Mets and Yankees were about to do battle in the World Series, the first so-called ‘Subway Series’ since the Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers competed against each other in 1956. I was working in sports radio at the time and was returning to the office after checking out our broadcasting position at Yankee Stadium, where we needed our equipment up and running in order to broadcast live from the stadium during the upcoming games. Then I noticed her sitting on the bench waiting for the uptown number one train at 59^th Street and Columbus Circle. I had been riding that train for about five years for work and had never seen her before. She had blonde hair that seemed even blonder among all the dark-haired and dark-clothed subway riders waiting on the platform on that chilly, fall day. The fact that she was wearing a skirt made her stand out even more.

She didn’t appear to notice me. I was sure she would not be interested in talking to me. She would think that I was some kind of nut job if I initiated conversation with her. I resumed looking down the tunnel hoping my train would arrive and next thing I know, she is standing two feet away from me. Did she purposely come close to me? Was she interested in me? Did it even matter!?! Of course not! She was pretty and I wanted to somehow meet her and this was my chance. Now I wanted my train to not arrive.

I decided to begin a conversation with her but what was I going to say? I did not want to sound cheesy or make it obvious that I was trying to pick her up so I had to be careful. So I opened my mouth and asked, "How long have you been waiting for the train?" Brilliant. How original. But it worked! She responded courteously and told me that she had been waiting for about 15 minutes. She did not tell me to get lost and she did not walk away from me. We chatted while waiting for the train. I learned that she loved to exercise; in fact, she was scheduled to go on a 40-mile bike ride that weekend with a friend. A guy friend. Even cooler, I thought. At that point I was ready to propose, but I thought that I should probably get to know her better before getting on one knee. She told me that she worked in marketing for a company that made cosmetics. I learned that she was funny. And warm. And she had a nice smile. And she was interested in what I had to say. I was stunned.

The train still had not arrived so I suggested we catch a cab together. We walked up to the sidewalk and before I could even raise my hand she was already off the curb and hailing a taxi. A woman of action! Perfect. We entered the cab and since I was only going about ten blocks I had to move quickly. We chatted some more and with each passing word I became even more enamored. When we arrived at my destination I asked her for her phone number and she politely declined. How could this be? We were getting along so well! I persisted and she relented and gave me her card with the directive “Don’t call me. E-mail me instead.” Fine with me, as long as I was able to contact her.

She told me that she had a long business trip coming up. During her trip I e-mailed her to touch base and say hi. I didn't want her to forget about me. I did not really expect her to reply but about a week later she wrote back. We made plans for dinner and it was during dinner that I truly fell in love with her. On our first date. Can you believe it?

We married six years later and now we have a beautiful daughter. Thank you New York City subway for being late.

Cliff spent many days of his youth riding the subway from his home in Queens to various places in Manhattan. The subway has always fascinated him, whether it was the serpentine tunnels in Times Square, the entertaining assortment of characters he people-watched in the subway or simply the different neighborhoods he could visit via the train, and to this day the subway still brings much joy to his life. Sometimes that joy is a sports event or time with friends at the last stop and other times it is the fond memory of meeting his wife on the subway platform. He hopes to pass along his fondness for the subway to his children.