Do you hang to the left, or to the right?

Each day I, Clarkson FlatBed, must make a decision of great import. Most of us Parksidians, that is, residents of "Parkside," must decide each morning, after entering our beloved decrepit Q station and heading towards the Manhattan bound side, whether to go down the stairs to the left, or to the right. After a few hundred trips at about the same time every day, I actually recognize a fair number of you FRONT-OF-TRAINERS, and perhaps you, I. Rarely do I head right (why would I?), but the other day I did just that, to see what I could see, not unlike the proverbial Bear/Mountain scenario.

So many new faces! What a motley crew we are! Every color of the double-rainbow (Mrs. Q saw a pair rising over Clarkson today!), every dialect, every conceivable hair style, fashion and apparent destination. From burka to doo-rag to briefcase to hipster scruff - we're the real deal New Yorkers that makes living here such a trip. Today, I loved every last one of you. (Except you, Mr. Rico Suave, with your thick veneer of cheap cologne. I'll let it slide this time.)

Then I walked frontwards, and on that sliver of platform between the stairwell and tracks, I noticed this door and sign:



Clearly, this is N. Thompson's dominion, and he is it's sovereign. Yet there's something a tad sad about it. All he gets is this Enclosure? Can you even be a manager, if all you manage is an enclosure? Or does he manage a large number of enclosures? If I were the manager, I'd manage to do something about that besmirching graffiti. And what does it say? Best I can make out it says POWER 2 NGR GANG. The word or acronym NGR has an enormous number of potential meanings, though I think the most likely culprit is the affectionate word that the young men on my block often use to refer to one another. (While I won't make the mistake of writing the word here, suffice to say that many Brits and Yanks have used a number of synonyms through the years - LAD, CHUM, MATE, BUDDY, DUDE, PAL, with similar sentiment. Sort of.

Anyhoo, here's to you N. Thompson, and all you do to keep our enclosures safe, clear of debris, and securely locked at all times.