When the usually reliable New York subway has a bad day, it's horrendous. A few snafus beget increased delays, jam packed trains and short tempers. There's a very thin line between passive commuting and an outbreak of mob violence. Yesterday was a bad day for the New York subway.

When I caught the train at 8:15 pm last night, I was surprised to see it was unusually full (and I was still downtown). By the time it crept into Times Square, there was nary a spare inch of airspace to move into. I couldn't reach anything to hang on to, but it didn't matter because there were so many bodies pressing into one another, a person couldn't fall over if they wanted to. My gym bag fell from my grasp and was somewhere on the floor, but I couldn't get to it so I hoped it would still be there when the crowds cleared. The train continued on, moving at a squirrel's pace. At each stop, more people tried to press into the car despite the fact that no one was actually getting off the train. Squabbles erupted between passengers, people swore under their breath and the train lumbered on. Between 72nd and 79th Street, the train ground to a halt. The power ceased and the lights dimmed. Silence. A few audible groans and sighs. There was no announcement from the conductor. The only sounds were the bass beats emanating from iPods stuck in some of the passengers ears.

At this moment, I recalled a funny episode of "Seinfeld" where the character of Elaine is stuck on a crowded subway. Her thought stream is captured in voiceover. These thoughts mirrored mine as I stood wedged with 50 other people in a dark, airless car trapped between stations:

"Why are we stopping? Oh, great, there goes the power. Why won't they announce what the problem is? It smells. What is that smell? Did someone fart? Why would someone be so inconsiderate to fart when they know we don't have any air in here? Why won't that asshole take off his backpack? We have no room. I don't think I can breath anymore. Old socks? Mold? No, it's definitely fart. Hey--who's pressing into me? What is that? I hope some sicko hasn't whipped it out while we're stuck like this. You hear stories all the time. Dude, back off! My ass is not your personal ottoman. Why are we sitting here? SAY SOMETHING! We're moving! And stopping. There go the lights again. Jesus, I'm going to scream. LET'S-GO-LET'S-GO-LET'S-GO-LET'S-GO..."

At which point, the train starts up again. I'm so glad this doesn't happen everyday.