Video: Maverick Subway Rider Prefers Solitude And Fresh Air Found Outside The Train

[MASTERBAKER]

Video: Maverick Subway Rider Prefers Solitude And Fresh Air Found Outside The Train
The crowded, smelly interior of NYC subway trains is for nerds and losers—true iconoclasts cling to the outside of the train, where the fresh tunnel breezes tousle your hair and you can really commune with the environment. And probably die? But there is a lush world of fauna and trackbed trash thriving out there beyond the metal and glass cage of the subway train. Most people just sleepwalk through it—not this guy:

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/39OeZbRNW3/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">smh #subwaysurfing #wtf #2hourdelayinthemaking #etrain #dontevertrythis #likenever (video by @remember24getme)</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A video posted by spoiled nyc (@spoiled_nyc) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-06-15T16:33:51+00:00">Jun 15, 2015 at 9:33am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

In Zen and the Art of Subway Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, Roger Pirsig writes, "In a subway you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that subway window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

"On the back of the subway train, the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming."

And then you're overwhelmingly dead. But at least your final moments will get a lot of Instagram likes?

The person who originally posted the video to Instagram sagely observed, "I should take the bus home after witnessing this cuz if he die you know that’s a 2 hour delay."