The Vamoose in New York photo courtesy Vamoose
Last month, while traveling on the Vamoose bus from New York City to Washington, DC, an attractive man sat down in the seat next to mine. We made eye contact, shared a smile of greeting, but did not immediately elevate the encounter to conversation. Perhaps because I’m long married, perhaps because he was about 10-15 years younger than me. Perhaps because we each made that mental calculation, “what if this guy/gal turns out to be a drip?” and took the safer/silent option.
This was just a month ago, and I no longer remember how it was that we did start talking, but we did and fast-forward, it was great; he was smart, charming and funny and it turns out, single and looking for love.
Well, he didn’t find it with it with me, as I said, I’m married. But I did promise to go through my Rolodex and let him know if any of my friends might be suitab
le for an introduction. In short, this encounter is one of those chance things that turn an ordinary trip into something special.
Transit love is an established subculture, as I discovered today when C
raigslist sent me the results of their new survey of the most romantic subway/transit stations in the US. And – perhaps this is coincidence or maybe my bus-riding companion is hanging out there – but topping the list is none other than a stop on the Washington, DC metro system, the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station which serves George Mason University.
Here and at bus, train and subway stops around the world, the traveler’s version of Some Enchanted Evening is being played out every day. What Craigslist has done, is offer those who have caught and held the eyes of a potential lover the hope that they
Can a traveler find love on the Hartsfield Airport train?
may someday re-encounter that missed connection.
The number crunchers (and I’m sure they are a romantic bunch) at Craigslist combed through the personal ads placed on the site, did some fancy math involving dividing the number of ad-placing hopefuls by the number of travelers using that station and discovered the cities responsible for the most yearning are
Washington
Philadelphia
Chicago
New York
Boston
Even if you’re married, its a lovely notion that so many people see their everyday journey as an opportunity to go somewhere truly special.
Sample ads from missed connections on Craigslist:
• Orange line to Vienna this afternoon
I enjoyed looking at your smile as our diver cracked jokes on the trains intercom today. You had on a green sweater and looked so cute..you also had a star tattoo on your foot! I wish I would have said hello.
• Nurse with the purple purse – m4w (Redline)
I usually see you a couple times a week. You get on the train at Addison and ride it past Jackson, which is my stop. You’re always wearing scrubs and are an absolute beauty. Thanks for giving me a reason to look forward to the morning commute.
Author of The New York Times bestseller, The Crash Detectives, I am also a journalist, public speaker and broadcaster specializing in aviation and travel.
