One New Thing: New York Transit Museum

Cat decided she wanted to go to the Transit Museum. I said "Let's do this thing. But first we must fill our bellies." We walked towards the tall buildings into downtown Brooklyn. (I'd only been there once when I had to get off at an unpredicted stop before I had my iPhone. I was so lost and confused, but I  eventually made my way to my destination despite the tears clouding my vision.) We walked to a building with a sign that said "Dental" above it. We opened the doors and entered a Shake Shack. A large, marvelous Shake Shack with available seating! Cat received her order quickly, while I had to wait... and wait... and wait. She smacked her lips and said "This is the most delicious food I've ever had. Too bad you can't enjoy it with me." Then she rubbed her belly with her hand in a circular motion and said, "Mmmmm." Or she said, "Sorry, but I'm not going to wait for you." Either way, she exposed herself as a bad friend that day. All was forgiven when my order was finally up. It was delicious. Imaginary Cat was right.

Then on to the transit museum. Cat tried to enter through a locked gate. She was angry because she had been eyeing this entrance for years, just waiting for the day she'd get to go in. We had to walk to the end of the block and down stairs as if entering a subway. Fun, but not as fun as entering through a mysterious barred gate.
Buying tickets Cat said, "This is kind of embarrassing."
Having been embarrassed so many times in my life, I've become a bit inured to it, so had to ask, "But why?"
"Because this is a place you take your kids."
"Hogwash," I said. But I realized she was right when I angrily waited for these dumb kids to get off the vintage bus so I could take a picture driving it too. They never got off the bus. I never got my picture. I feel no shame for the hate in my heart when recalling this memory.

I read a lot about electricity. I still don't understand how they built tunnels underwater. 'Human Geyser' has been added to my 'Things To Do Before I Die' list. But the real fun came when we got to take vintage subway car pictures aplenty. The old subway signs were also fun. There were tons of signs on how to avoid fires. I assume with all those smokers back then things were set ablaze all of the time. I believe Smokey the Bear jokingly referred to cigarettes as "Job Security". My favorite was Etti-Cat. I think of him as a bit of a superhero and if you can hear me out there Etti-Cat, please come back. We need you now more than ever.

- Megan Leigh