Good Morning! America


It was a regular busy weekday morning, on the PATH train from Newark, New Jersey toward 33rd Street of New York City; the rail car was very crowd with no place to stand; lucky people with a seat were reading newspapers, books, magazines or sleeping, and standing ones trying to hold the breath, switching hands trying to hold tight. After the conductor yelled it through microphone "Journal Square!! Arriving Journal Square!!", the train stopped, a few people got off with big relief while many more squeezed into the train. It was so quiet but the natural sound came from the train.

All of a sudden, a lound speech bursted out from a man with somehow hopeless voice; people around got scared and tried to keep distance from him. "...I can't believe this is our great country. I have lost my job for over an year and no one would help me..." Some turned the head to him with disgusted expression and some with curiosity, some with puzzle and some with pitiness, but most people continue reading newspapers, books, magazines or sleeping as if nothing unusual had happened. This man, at his late 40's, continued with voice louder and louder "...Every day I woke up with no hope, angry, helpless... Good Morning! America. Where are you, the wonderful people always willing to help?..." People continued doing what they were doing as if he did not exist. He sounded very hopeless and disappointed and sometimes turned to angry sometimes turned to begging. With his hand, he showed the Classified Ads section with many job openings he circled "...I have been working very hard for past 20 years, and I want to work, but it is asham that I can not even afford to go to interview..."

Not far from him, a man woke up from deep sleep, standed up, walked over and asked him face to face "Ok, so what do you want?" as if there is going to be a big fighting, as if he was unhappy being woke up from the sleep desperatedly needed. The loud speaker suddenly tuned downt his voice and showing the Classified Ads in his shaking hands "...I just need help to go to job interview..." "How much?" "... just $5 for each interview...", showing the circled jobs. The woke up man pulled out his worn out wallet while almost everyone stopped what they were doing or reading, and staring at him and waiting to see what was going to happen. With no hesitation, a $50 bill showed up and passed to the crapy man; people saw his hand grasping the money so tight as if it was the only hope of his life after striving in the drawning water for a long long time. The rail car is not quite any more, everyone was taking about what they just saw. An executive dressed lady couldn't help "...Wow!!! That was Fifity dollars!!!" Even the last one sleeping woke up. "...What? Fifty Dollars?!..."

"...Povonia/Newport, Arriving Povonia/Newport..." came the conductor's yell out from loud speaker, and the woke up man quickly stepped out of the crowd as if nothing ever happened. "...33rd Street, 33rd Street train..." the train soon disappeared as normal as usual...