Shaft

New York is one of those places when you can turn a corner and a sight or a sound can make you think 'wow'. Sometimes it's 'wow that's beautiful', sometimes it's 'wow that's amazing' and sometimes it's 'wow that's uber cool'. And I had one of those moments the other day. The sun was blazing and I'd just been watching them remove the ice-rink at the Rockafeller centre ready for summer. I turned towards 5th Avenue and a car pulled up caught in traffic. It was a massive black car with black windows and had the theme tune from the 70s New York cop film 'Shaft' blaring out. It had some of those flashing lights that pulsed in time with the music. Even Boy Wonder had a little dance. The music and the location made me think, 'wow, that's uber cool.'

Today though I had a morning where I thought, 'wow, that's pretty shite,' and I'm still recovering. My plan was to brave the subway alone for the second time and head down to the Children's Museum of the Arts so Boy Wonder could join in with the 'Wee Arts Exploration Group'. I was queuing for my ticket and worrying that the subway was still really busy even though it was gone 9.30am, which is the time I've been told not to even both trying to get on a train with the stroller. I paid for my ticket and then tried to work out how to get through the turnstile. There was a wide door for wheelchairs and then a row of turnstiles. The last time, I was shown how to swipe the card at the turnstile next to the wide door, push the bar round as if you were walking through and then you could open the wide door. This time though, the five turnstiles next to the door were all 'exit' ones with streams of people heading my way. While I was working out how to open the door, someone came through the wide door and held it open for me so I went through.

As soon as I was through I was approached by two police officers. The lady cop asked for my ticket to check it so I gave it to her and she went off. I stood having a very nice chat with the man cop about the subway and times when it gets less busy. Then the lady cop came back with my ticket and asked to see my ID. I showed her my UK driving license and my US bank card which also has photo ID on. She kept these and asked where I lived and I told her and she asked again if I had more ID so I said I had my passport in the apartment but nothing else on me. She then told me that I could be arrested for not having any New York ID with me and went off again to talk on her walkie talkie.

At this point, I still wasn't too sure about what I had done wrong but I was starting to panic as I had images of being thrown in a cell with lots of rough, tough women and Boy Wonder being addicted to crack by teatime. She came back again and told me that my driving license would have to do, even though her boss had told her not to accept it, but basically to count myself lucky to be given a summons when she should be arresting me. Now, those of you who know me well can imagine I was having a sort of public nervous breakdown at this point as I assumed a summons meant I was being taken off to court. She completed the form (which took quite a while because I could hardly speak) and she wrote on the summons that I had 'entered through the exit gate to avoid legal payment of fare'. I tried to point out that I had paid for my ticket to which she replied that 'may or may not be the case'. I said that we could go to the booth where I got it but she said that was irrelevant as I didn't swipe my card. In hindsight, I can see that now but at the time I felt so mortified that they were saying I hadn't paid at all. Then another lady cop came over, and again the first cop went on about my lack of ID and how I should be arrested and the second cop pointed out that my UK license is fine as if they went to the UK then they would only have their US licenses. It looks like I just got unlucky with a jobsworth as she just said again how she was doing me a favour as her boss told her not to accept it.

They handed me my summons - which is a $100 payment within two weeks - and I asked to be shown how to get back out as all I wanted to do was to get back home and have a good sob. She then asked me why I wasn't going on to my destination, to which I snivelled a very British, 'I just want to go home for a cup of tea.' So there. That told her.

Paul rang the number on the top of the summons for some clarification on the whole ID thing and apparently the lady cop was talking nonsense and I have a number in case I want to complain. To be honest, I realise I was in the wrong and would just rather pay the thing and forget about it. But does that mean I'll be letting them win?? Should I be standing up for the small people??? Either way, I don't care as I was totally distraught about the whole experience. It took me forever to recover from getting my first and only three points on my UK driving license and this is much worse!!! I have just re-read what I've written above and I haven't conveyed even a quarter of how scary it was.

Shaft.

Shafted.

Whatever.