By Peter Gilmore, September 15, 2019 — I didn’t get my license until I was forty. I never felt a need for it since I grew up in the City where public transportation was cheap and easy. Nowadays public transportation in NYC is expensive and basically where the homeless survive. When I was in my sixties, I was working for NBC but commuting in and out from Manalapan, New Jersey. I would get on the bus late at night and it would be a straight shot to work, with no traffic. This was the best few years of my career because the streets were quiet and there was less activity compared to a normal nine to five shift. Since I had been working for NBC for a while I had seniority. This led my boss to always ask if I wanted a “better” shift and get me in during the day-time shows. I never wanted it and would always turn him down because of how relaxing a 12 am-9 am shift was. From my twenties to fifties I was always working at NBC commuting nine to five. Since I now had this easy bus ride in and out, I felt like I could work like that forever. When I was done working for the day, I would take a quick bus ride back to Manalapan and go to my girlfriend’s house. She would prepare my favorite breakfast which was fried eggs with a toasted bagel with hot sauce. I then would go back to my house and sleep in a darkened room until it was time to go to work again. Although this was an unconventional work experience, for these couple years it was great to have an easy commute with the quiet city life. Also at this time all three of my sons were in college or so it was the perfect time for this lifestyle. I am now retired, but looking back this was always one of my highlights, as I love thinking about the public transportation in the city and how much it benefited me throughout my social and professional life.
