On May 17th, 2016, there was a massive fire, underneath the tracks at East Harlem, which caused all trains coming in and out of New York City to stop running.  No one knew in the beginning why the fire was so bad and what caused it, all everyone did know was that the commute was going to be hell the next day.

And it was.

For the majority of commuters who use the trains to get into and out of the city, learned that although they would be able to use the trains, they would only run once every hour.  Standing room only, in most cars.  Consider yourself a lucky camper if you got on early enough to grab a seat.

The problems lasted only a few short days, service was up and running before people began killing each other.

It is now a few weeks later, and I realized that no one was talking about why this fire was so bad, and what caused it to wreak havoc on the tracks.

Well, as it turns out, someone was storing highly flammable materials and propane tanks, without a permit, under the railroad. Said people, have been cited.

But seriously, what made them think this was a good idea?  I understand you need a place to store your highly flammable junk.  But even I know, that putting it next to train tracks, is probably not a good idea.  Isn’t it common sense? Wouldn’t you look at your stuff and go, “hmm, maybe I shouldn’t put it underneath the train tracks in case a bad accident happens and my shit explodes.”

Am I the only one who feels this way?  Or am I only viewing this in hindsight?  Honestly, I do have flammable things at home and I do tend to keep them away from the rest of my belongings, y’know, just in case.  But I can’t be the only one who thinks this was totally avoidable if only someone had used a little common sense.

I could just be griping about those few of feeling like stuffed sardines on the train, but at the same time, I was also one of the lucky ones who had a seat.  So I had some time to reflect.  You would think there would be more news about that garden center being cited for illegally storing their materials.  But I guess, it’s not as important as bashing the MTA for not having enough trains.  EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE ONLY 2 USABLE TRACKS BECAUSE SOMEONE THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO PLACE THEIR FLAMMABLE SHIT UNDER THE TRACKS!!!!

I feel better now.

Quirkily yours,
The Quirky Digest