OFF THE TRACKS
Suspicious objects ignored by staff
Dear John: On July 26, I spotted this situation at the Stamford, Conn., station of Metro-North.
I saw a cylinder on the track as I came down the westernmost escalator for Track 3. I was curious, because it looked like it wasn’t a soda can. I peered over the edge of the track and, lo and behold, there was a cell phone sticking out from underneath it.
I looked for someone in authority and found a conductor from the New Canaan train on the adjacent track. I showed it to her and went to the farthest west point of the platform.
As I waited for the train, the conductor came back to look at the cylinder with another man. They then went back to whatever they were doing. My train came and I left.
Two weeks later, I went to New York and took the same escalator. The cylinder was still there, although it had moved a few inches toward the center of the track. It just wasn’t on top of the phone anymore. I took a picture and I’m sending it to you.
I tried the “if you see something, say something” routine. That didn’t work. I hope you can get someone to pay attention. B.C.
Dear B.C.: As you know, I called the MTA, which operates the Metro-North Railroad, and it was quick to act. An explosives dog was sent onto the tracks, and the objects were cleared. It was a blue thermos alongside a flip phone that was opened and, after all these weeks, still had a battery charge.
This is one of those situations where we were all hoping that it was a false alarm. And it was.
“See something, say something” is a great motto. But it also has to be followed by “do something,” which the people at the station clearly didn’t do. I’m glad the MTA was more diligent.
Thanks for letting us know. And, everyone, it’s important to report suspicious things. The cops can’t be everywhere. And while it’s a pain to check out all false alarms, it’s better than having something bad happen.
Dear John: I read somewhere that Bill Clinton entered the room in which Hillary was hunkered down with her top strategists and said, “The most important thing to remember to win the election is jobs, jobs, jobs.” They threw the old fool out! The rest, as they say, is history. Keep up the good work. B.S.
Dear B.S.: I don’t know if that really happened, but the theory behind it isn’t BS, B.S.
All elections are about pocketbook issues. The one exception might be when voters feel personally vulnerable and they think one candidate can protect them better than another.
So, advice to all future candidates: Ignore people’s financial concerns at your own peril.