LIRR – Long Island Rail Road – June 12th

I was meeting up a good friend for dinner and had to take a 45 minute train (the LIRR) from New York City to Long Island. The train was quite full by the time I got on so I sat next to a hairy man. He sort of smelled funny, but I said hi anyways. His name was Patrick. He cuts down trees for a living (hence the funny smell) with his father 2 hours (by train) from New York City. He goes to NYC every week to see a doctor for a special medical condition. I told him about my upcoming trip to Paris and he told me how much he loved the city. We exchanged all the French words we could think of and talked about the activities he liked to do outdoors. Although I don’t remember the details, he loves swimming in super cold water. He has swum in the Hudson and in the ocean for many miles. He starts by first ‘freezing’ certain veins in his face to get his body use to the 30-40 degree (F) water and then gets his feet and hands cold – then he started swimming. Craziness – I didn’t even know this was possible. My stop came up and I had got it – he quickly took off his cell phone and asked for my number so we could connect later – I said no thank you and left. An awkward ending – good bye stranger.