Wages It all started with a New York Post editorial. John looked at himself in the full length mirror and smiled. He admired what he saw. He was excited every day he went to work and today even more so. He wore his crisp light blue shirt and his pleated navy blue pants with pride. He was a conductor. He was a conductor so he was somebody. And he made his parents and grandfather very proud. They were all conductors and now he was one. He worked the extra list and was assigned to the south. He was usually assigned to work on the F line which was cool because he usually started out of Coney Island and it was summer. So many hot girls walked that station platform in their bathing suits. This was the best time of the year. One of these days, he thought. Im going to...... John loved his job but it did at times rob him of his freedom and social life. Previous girlfriends and female friends could never understand having to be at work at 11:53p.m. They often thought he was lying when he had to leave in the middle of the night for a 2:19a.m. report. The job did make finding a relationship and sustaining it difficult so every day he prayed he would meet his wife on the job. Or maybe he had already met his wife. Maybe he was married to the job. Besides loving the legacy aspect he had, the money was sick! He had even had a small tattoo of the wordKA-CHING put on his left bicep when he completed his probation. But still, he prayed he would meet a fellow employee the way his parents did or at least an understanding woman like his grandfather did. His grandmother never worked in the system. His grandfather used to say they fell in love on the KK. He should be so lucky. Everyone should be so lucky. Today was his 10 year anniversary as a conductor and when he woke up he had never felt so alive. Looking at himself in the mirror he thought, Why me? Why am I so lucky? As he grabbed his bi swing jacket, it was warm but wearing it made the uniform look even more professional, he heard a noise in the hallway. He figured it was little Jamal from down the hall. Jamals mother liked to tell Jamal to behave because the policeman (John) was going to get him. John hated that and sought out every opportunity to be friendly and not so authoritative with Jamal. John loved kids. He wanted a child or children to follow in his footsteps and move the city too. Besides, Jamals mother never considered what impression she was putting in his 5 year old head. He would probably grow up and hate police and that wouldnt be good. John grabbed his conductors hat but didnt put it on. When he wore it he really looked like a policeman and he didnt want to say hi to Jamal that way. And then he opened the door. Boom. The last person John ever saw was Jamal. That is, if you didnt count the person in black. John had just been shot in the neck and as he lay on the floor clutching his throat a person dressed in black bent down and covered his mouth with his hand. The hand smelled funny. After a few minutes the person walked away slowly leaving a bloody trailing hand print on the hallway wall. As John struggled to breathe and see, it was getting dark, he heard the snap of a lock and the pitter patter of sneakered feet. It was Jamal, who ran to him. Imma be good boy policeman. Jamal said, rubbing Johns head. Imma be good. Too Much Money!!! Toby Ruskin They make over $75,000 a year. They close the doors in your face. They never allow you enough time to get off. Questions are answered in a huff and announcements explaining delays are seldom made. This is just what they do to working Americans. But theyre cruel to everyone. They bother the poor and the homeless too. They stop train service and have these people who seldom bother anyone, who may just be sleeping on the train arrested. They actually have people with nowhere to go arrested. Yes, they make too much money. Undeserved money. Money that should be used to repair the system and make fully automated trains so no one is hit with a train door or ignored when asking a question. Who are they? They are New York City Transit Conductors. New York Citys financial records for city employees is a public record which will have you seething if you read it. These are the names, wages and addresses of the highest paid coonductors for the past fiscal year. Keep in mind most if not all of these people have minimal education. Keep in mind they have excellent benefits, union representation that is crooked but nonetheless, they have representation. Keep in mind these people do not pay to ride public transportation though the fare continues to go up and up and up for everyone else. Lastly and again keep in mind this is public record. The ten top paid conductors; John Dorsey, 207-54 Hollis Avenue Apt 2B Hollis, NY 11426, $112,987 Andres Cartagena, 484 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11026, $110,847 Cassandra Davies, 905 Harmon Rd. Poconos, PA 05378, $109,018 Jaimungal Gupta, 787 Castle Hill Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10499, $107,713 Jennifer Hanover-Conyers, 207-54 Hollis Avenue, Apt 1A, Hollis, NY 11426, $105,543 William Ho, 93-14 Main St. Flushing, NY, 07632, $102,981 Warren Keller, 107 Knight St. Staten Island, NY 21807, $102,327 Anushka Federov, 207-54 Hollis Avenue, Apt 3D, Hollis, NY 11426, $101,018 Anil Federov, 207-54 Hollis Avenue, Apt 3D, Hollis, NY 11426, $100,954 Carlos Rios, 27-18 Whitehall St. Queens Village NY, 11427 $100,884 These wages, in this economy... The words trailed off or rather, he stopped reading. He folded the paper neatly and stuffed it in his pocket. It was brisk out and he thought he should move away from the beach. The crashing waves made the air salty and he was so cold. He took off his left shoe and used it as a pillow. He couldnt sleep. It was just so cold. He lay there on the damp sand under the boardwalk thinking about his next move. Then he sat up, took out the newspaper out of his pocket and crossed the first name out. Sleep came peacefully afterwards.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:34:32 +0000
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