SubDude (or The ************ with the Hat)

(Courtesy fashionisaparty.com)

Setting: 34th St. subway station. An R train is pulling in. A paunchy guy with hipster frames and a fake fur hat (in his mind he's the model at left) asks me if the N and the R go to the same place.

"No," I tell him, "they both go to Queens, but after Queensboro Plaza the N goes to Astoria and the R..."

"But in Manhattan, they're the same?"

"Well, yes, but you asked about where they 'go to.' In Queens, at least, we take that to mean destination and not just one part of the route...."

Of course, after the word "yes," I was talking to myself alone. He'd gotten on the train, without a word of thanks.

Walker Evans

"Oh," I added, "and I hate your hat."

Why couldn't it have been the woman in fur collar on the Lexington line instead?