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John P. Weiss's avatar

"...you learn how to inhabit different perspectives. An old man. A young girl." This line reminds me, of something I used to mentor in new police officers when I was their supervisor. "Imagine being in their shoes," I'd tell them. "Imagine what they're thinking, feeling, worrying about. Be it suspects, victims, witnesses." My goal was to inspire empathy. Understanding. Which makes one a better cop, in my view. As for your story, I wonder what would have happened had you immediately handed the purse to a fellow rider, smiled, and proclaimed, "I know what you're thinking, but the purse belongs to my good friend, (and then said her full name). She handed it to me when the door was closing. Check her ID inside the purse, you'll see her name." I don't know if that would have worked or only made matters worse?

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Charles Schifano's avatar

I imagine that understanding in the situations that I picture from your story—when there is stress, the potential for escalation—is just all the more difficult, as well as being even more important than in everyday life. And perhaps the ID explanation would have worked, but I think it would leave me with a new issue—explaining to my friend why I handed her purse away. Thank you for the story and for the comment.

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Sherman Alexie's avatar

Oh, wow, this is so visceral. I'm time-travel worried about the you on that train.

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Charles Schifano's avatar

Visceral is a description that I can certainly appreciate—thank you for the kind words.

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Trilety Wade's avatar

If you wrote a novel, I would devour it in an instant and purchase copies for everyone from loved ones to acquaintances.

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Charles Schifano's avatar

Thank you very much Trilety! That's such a great compliment and is really nice to hear—I very much appreciate it.

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Stephanie Losi's avatar

That story is hilarious. Thank you for a good laugh in the morning.

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Tom Pendergast's avatar

Oh Charles, I really like this! Very immediate, very visceral. Maybe following George Saunders, I wondered to myself: how would this piece feel if you stopped before your last divider? You would have just left me alone to contemplate ... It’s making me think about how I’m ending something I’m working on. I really liked this one though.

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Charles Schifano's avatar

In general, I lean toward more space in a narrative, more gaps, more room for the reader—I think that might even be a necessary element in good fiction. And I think that's an interesting thought when it comes to this piece. Thank you for the comment.

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Tom Pendergast's avatar

Yeah, I’m looking for space too: the writing should be an invitation to think further. Yours worked like this today, that’s what made it so successful.

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Brian Reindel 👾⚔️'s avatar

Awesome story and observation! There's another lesson from your perspective, an action I would have attempted, even in NY. Instantly recognizing the horror, you could have disarmed the crowd with a quick wit. It's a learned behavior, and even rehearsed among friends. I guarantee if done correctly it's even better in this situation because it's on the heels of horror that humor works best.

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James Maynard's avatar

Wonderful hook, hilarious story.

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