bethofalltrades

In the canal street station there is a stairway that splits to the left and right. Both sides lead to my train, but one, it seemed, put me closer to where I needed to be.

I could never remember, right or left. So I'd usually guess left. Actually, I always remembered guessing left and the walk to my platform was always long.

Tonight I stood and considered the stairway before turning right. I got to the bottom of the stairs and was at the opposite end of the platform that I needed to be. I looked around, confused, until it finally dawned on me, like the moment when a child realizes that those strange loops on paper MEAN something to the rest of the world.

The left stairway ends on the downtown Q platform. The right stairway ends on the uptown Q platform. To reach my train, the J, one must walk to the end of either platform that is opposite the stairs.

Or, to put it simply, it doesn't matter if I take the left stairway or the right one. The distance to my train is exactly the same.

And here I thought I'd just always made the wrong choice. It turns out they were both right.

Love,
Beth