October 16, 2012

MTA Raises Fares, Can’t Spell

It appears that although the MTA is planning on raising fares, they can’t spell.

What do these two things have to do with each other? Nothing really. Except that they are both MTA-related. The MTA has indeed proposed a fare increase, although the details of said fare hike are unclear.

What is clear is that someone at the MTA, either a human or a sentient machine, can’t spell. But it’s bad spelling for a good cause.

The safety of you and your children.

This is from the New York Times Metropolitan Diary and was submitted by a Times reader, who writes that the following text “is a literal transcription of an electronic sign at the Avenue of the Americas-34th Street Downtown subway stop. All spelling, capitalization, line breaks are as found.” The submitter did capitalize the first line to “make it the title.” I’m OK with that.

Here, for your reading (dis)pleasure, is the text, or ur-text, or beat poetry, or whatever you want to call it, of an electronic sign in the service of the MTA.

ATTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN

Adults hold handrail
attend to your
children avoid the
side of the escalator
ride safely escaator
are for passenger
only never run up or
down no large
packages should be
carried on escalator
step on and off
escalator never push
strollers on escalator
nevr sit on step or
handrail never put
umbrella on escalator
steps children should
hold adults hand not
handrail have a great
day

I’m feeling the need to do a dramatic reading. With bongo drums behind me. Not unlike the time William Shatner read Sarah Palin’s twitter feed and resignation speech as beat poetry.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_t1A8LGzg]
And more:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpbSwSlP4Yc]
I am not The Shat, but I shall try. Oh. How I shall try.

Metropolitan Diary: An Exhorting, Informing, Bewildering Electronic Subway Sign – NYTimes.com.


This post was written by Daddy

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