Yesterday at 34th street station a vision from this city's past walked by as I was performing, a guy in a red beret and a jacket that read Guardian Angels. As he passed me I called out, and he gave me his card. I asked him how long he’d been an Angel “34” years he replied. He took the escalator down behind me and I thanked him, but he was gone too quick before I realized it was Curtis Sliwa the original Angel.
What I wanted to say was, “You made a such difference in our city when I was riding the subways as a youngster. Set the stage for me to sing and perform underground today safely, from South Ferry to 125th st! I remember back in the day when riding the subway alone was crazy, or at least after 10pm (that was my own self imposed rule).” Fortunately I had his card and sent him an email. Of course now he’s got his own radio show and is still out there doing other things.
If you weren’t around in the sick days of muggings and violence daily in the subway’s you might not have known about the Guardian Angels. But those were tense days, not that the police terror squad as a daily presence today in the stations (they were at 34th st too) doesn’t make me tense for what they portend, but that’s another story for another day. The city continues to adjust.
Now that’s a touch of history folks, still riding the subway!