Mind the Gap

Yesterday a subway construction worker was on the F train with me, and he hopped out at every station to measure something at each doorway of our car. He pressed an L-shaped piece of wood between the outer door openings and the platform edge, calculating, I suppose, the gap between the train and platform. It was sort of like musical chairs, him bounding up from his seat and leaping from one doorway to the next and in at the far end of the car to note something on his clipboard, all before the train took off again. The announcement of each station and the caution to watch the closing doors set the time. It was nice to see some of what those orange and yellow signs mean when they tell you that they've hacked the regular train schedule to bits and "Why are we making these changes? We are making track improvements." One day, though, it might be nice for them to finally admit that all the detours and skipped stops are because "We are just f*cking with you."