Unlimited Voices

Monday 8 December 2014Tuesday 9 December 2014 kristyactivism, buses and trains, New York, public transit, Race1 Comment

It’s no secret that I love public transportation. On my 19th birthday, my best friends threw me a party on the number 19 bus in Portland, and I moved to New York because it has the best mass transit system in the United States. In fact, as far as I know, it is the only city in the world where the trains run all day and night. My other favorite thing about New York is all the opportunities to organize for social change.

However, I didn’t realize just how essential mass transit is to social justice efforts until this weekend.

After attending the #BlackLivesMatter protests in New York City, I noticed that some of the hardest-working protesters––all people of color––were having a hard time getting money together for the train. That prompted me to think about how unlimited MetroCards are New York City’s golden ticket. With an unlimited weekly MetroCard, you can pay $31 to go anywhere in the city for seven days without having to think about money. Without one, you have to pay $2.50 per trip. How much harder would it be to speak out against injustice if it meant going without dinner or walking home late at night in the cold?

Last night, I launched a small fundraiser to get low-income protesters unlimited MetroCards, so that they don’t have to choose between raising their voices and getting home safely or going to work the next day. It is called Unlimited Voices and you can check it out here.

A few people have asked me, “Why unlimited cards?,” pointing out that we could get a lot more cards to a lot more people if we gave cards with smaller amounts or just swiped people in at major subway stations. The reason I think it’s important that they be unlimited is that there are actions happening all over the city every day, and anyone who wants to be at one—whichever one—should be able to go. I also know that amazing grassroots organizers are already mobilizing and manifesting in incredible ways. They don’t need my suggestions, and in fact, I need their leadership.

In less than a week, I have learned more about organizing and peaceful protest from the activists I’ve met on the streets than I have in my whole life.

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. I am really hopeful about the impact our efforts will have and hope that together we make sure that those most affected by structural racism and this city’s vast wealth disparity have the ability to speak out without being limited by the high cost of mass transit in New York City.

In solidarity,
kristy

A song for the subway

Sunday 30 November 2014Tuesday 2 December 2014 kristybooks, family, New York, public transit, umamiLeave a comment

(To the tune of “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash)

“I hear the 2 a-comin’
It’s comin’ down the tracks
It’s going to run over
Five little rats
I’m waiting on the platform
And it smells so bad
When I hear that train a-comin’
I’ll tell the rats goodbye”

It’s only one verse, but it’s based on a true story.

The true story is that last night we watched a group of little rats play on the tracks while we waited for the 2 train. I don’t know if it really ran them over or not, but while we’re on the subject, have you ever noticed that rats don’t die when they touch the third rail? At least, I have never seen it happen. Do you think New York City rats evolved to withstand electric shock?

Last night Devin and I got to watch the rats play in the company of my little cousin Gaby and her best friend Efren. It was special because this was her first trip to New York, and I thought I might not be able to see her. I was also super excited to meet her bff. They’ve been friends for what seems like an eternity, and now they’re both in their first year of college, away from home, all the way on the East Coast! (They’re both from El Paso.) I think it’s so cool that they get to be close to each other.

We had dinner at Umami Burger and all agreed that it was not delicious. Maybe our palates are not refined enough to taste the fifth taste, but everything tasted overly sweet to us, which is not great where burgers are concerned. However, it is open late and does have a great mirror for group photos.

This morning I rushed to New Jersey as fast as I could to see my cousins Vanessa and Josh. They were in town for Thanksgiving and their first baby shower (Josh is my cousin by marriage). I only got to see them for a couple of hours, but it was really fun. I watched them pack all the books they got as gifts for their baby and took a picture of some cool found art.

“One of these dolls is not like the others.”

I also bought Vanessa a book to read on the plane because she accidentally packed hers, and it seemed a grave injustice that someone who took such care to ensure her progeny would have books to last a lifetime would be denied the joy of reading herself! (If I’m being completely honest, I have to note that she is the best at letting me borrow her books and it was a book I’ve never read, so really it’s an investment. Sometimes she even sends books to me all the way from Phoenix because she loves me that much.)

After that, I took the PATH train back to New York, walked through the West Village, and hopped back on the 2 train—no rats this time.

Join me in The Future (a giveaway!)

Thursday 4 August 2011 kristyair tram, giveaway, Portland, public transit, The Jetsons1 Comment

Were you a Flintstones kid or a Jetsons kid? I really wish I could say I was a Flintstones kid. The Flintstones kids probably grew up to be great environmentalists who hire goats to mow their lawns. Meanwhile, the Jetsons kids now while away their days dreaming about their first Roomba.

I was totally a Jetsons kid. Let’s watch the intro, just for fun!

This post isn’t really about the Jetsons except insomuch as it is about The Future. As someone who couldn’t wait for the future and spent hours deciding whether she would have Judy or Jane hair (both so flippy but in such different ways), I was really bummed when the advent of the new millennium did not bring with it sleek flying bubble cars and instead gave us the PT Cruiser. It was a total where-did-society-go-wrong moment for me. Fortunately, some of the things meant to exist in this time and place–like the Roomba–actually made it here. And now thanks to me, you can be a part of The Future as the Sixties intended it, too!

How? Well…the other day I went to the doctor at Oregon Health & Science University by the banks of the Willamette in dear old Portland, Oregon (I’m leaving in ten days, so it’s time to wax poetic). As I was leaving, the front desk people asked if I needed my parking validated. I said no. They asked if I wanted a tram ticket. I said, ‘Yes!’ because I’d never ridden the tram even though it has been on my Portland to-do list ever since I first saw it because look:

Perfect Little Space Pod — It is the perfect little space pod. Definitely designed by a Jetsons kid.

I was waiting in line to board when I realized I didn’t need the ticket at all because my job gives me monthly public transit passes, and the tram is publicly-owned. I tucked the ticket in my wallet and thought maybe I’d keep it forever because even the Tram logo is adorable.

And just when you think things can’t get any cuter, look at what I saw from the tram.

View from the Top — Do you see what I see? A rainbow!

Fast-forward a couple of days: I’m back at OHSU’s Center for Health & Healing, this time for an appointment with a really cool eye doctor who sounds like Joni Mitchell. At the end of my appointment, I am offered another tram pass, which I take. Then, I notice a basket of freebies and grab two of whatever prize is in there while the person at the front desk isn’t looking. I inspect the freebies in the elevator: roll-up sunglasses. I pat myself on the back for grabbing two and think they are way cool. This time I don’t have time to ride the tram, so I head home where I have a brilliant idea—-taking Photobooth pictures of myself in the cool sunglasses I got for free at the doctor.

Roll-lenses — They stay up like magic, no weird things behind your ears.

Then, I had an even more brilliant idea. I should give the sunglasses and two tram tickets away—-to you, lucky reader! I mean, the tram and frameless sunglasses are made for each other: sleek, geometric, futuristic. After realizing this, I couldn’t possibly advise riding the tram without the lenses. You could make a nice date out of these items, possibly involving Dipping Dots; or you could make two nice dates with yourself. The possibilities for fun with the tickets and the lenses are finite, but there are some.

I told Devin about my big idea to do a super cool future-as-imagined-by-the-Sixties giveaway (like a legit blogger!), and he pointed out that the roll-up sunglasses were not, as I thought, prizes from the eye doctor but rather, important tools for helping patients who’ve just had their pupils dilated so that they can see. You know what? That just makes the giveaway even better because the tram tickets say ‘Patient’ on them (they never expire; I checked). You can use the lenses if you want to pretend to be an OHSU patient or as a conversation starter with your fellow Tram-travelers (‘I just got my pupils dilated! Craaaazy stuff, man!’).

To win, simply comment and tell me whether you were a Jetsons kid or a Flinstones kid and why, along with why you want (deserve?) to win these inexpensive items I got for free. Entries shall be judged on creativity, level of detail, and—-above all—-syntactical complexity. The winner will be announced this weekend.

Good luck!