Not going gently into that good night

This morning, when I was walking down the stairs at Broadview subway station to get to the train platform, I noticed an older man making his way up the stairs with considerable difficulty. By the time I saw him, he had gotten to the landing that is at the halfway point of the stairs and was pausing to rest before negotiating the other half of the staircase.

The reason I noticed this was because Broadview station is one of the subway stops that features elevators that take you from the street level down to track level. The man did not have to use the stairs, but chose to use them. Possibly this was because he didn’t notice the elevator, or perhaps it was out of order (I didn’t have time to check) – but I like to think it was because he was too stubborn to use the elevator and wanted to use the stairs like normal people.

I suspect that when I get old I will be like that too.