brunobaby

The buses and subways were back in full force this afternoon. I used my Metrocard liberally, which means that I used it to save the whales.

Unlimited Metrocards are getting three days' extension. Mine still gave an expiration date of Jan. 2 when I fed it into the slot on the bus, but the driver assured me that the days would be added.

NY1 is having a feature right now on people who work in the subways, whose livelihoods depend on there being subways. There are stores down there, and also those Peruvian guys who've been playing "El Condor Pasa" for the past twenty years, and all lost a lot of income this week.

Also losing money were those holiday fairs: Grand Central, Union Square, Bryant Park, a couple of others, most of which are only running until tomorrow. These are small vendors who sell their stuff at street fairs when it's warm, holiday fairs when the street fair season is open, and online and through catalogs the rest of the time.

I checked out Union Square, which included:

• C.O.P.A. Soaps, one of my street fair favorites;
• Our neighbor Kip Cosson, who designs unusual t-shirts and other clothes for kids;
• The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, purveyors of Freudian Slippers;
• High Fidelity Photo, whose "Jews Kick Ass" print featuring The Fonz, Sammy Davis Junior and Jesus, is available on a t-shirt.

It should be noted, for the benefit of my husband, that C.O.P.A. Soaps and High Fidelity are both Philadelphia-based companies. It should also be noted that in light of the fact that I won't be able to stick my nose in their soaps again until April, I sprang for a range of C.O.P.A.s in the Spicy, Relaxing and Herbal categories.