Today's New York Times introduces us to a brand new kind of subway hero: the anonymous one.
Chad Lindsey, 33, spent his Monday morning commute covered in "blood and dirt" after rescuing a man who'd fallen on the C train tracks of Penn Station.
In Mr. Lindsey's words:
"I'm kind of zoned out, and I saw this guy come too quickly to the edge...He stopped and kind of reeled around. I felt bad, because I couldn't get close enough to grab his coat. He fell, and immediately hit his head on the rail and passed out."
"I dropped my bag and jumped down there. I tried to wake him up,...He probably had a massive concussion at that point. I jumped down there and he just wouldn't wake up, and he was bleeding all over the place."
..."He was hunched over on his front. I grabbed him from behind, like under the armpits, and kind of got him over to the platform. It wasn't very elegant. I just hoisted him up so his belly was on the platform. It's kind of higher than you think it is."
"I couldn't see the train coming, but I could see the light on the tracks, and I was like, 'I've got to get out of this hole.' "
"Someone pulled him out, and I just jumped up out of there."
Sounds easy enough, right? Turns out Mr. Lindsey even had some time to spare: the train didn't come for "another 10 or 15 seconds."
But the most interesting part of this story is that Mr. Lindsey wanted to remain anonymous. After police arrived, another train came through the station, and Mr. Lindsey hopped on, was cleaned up by five ladies with Handi-Wipes, and went to work. As it were, his anonymity was short-lived -- his identity was disclosed by a friend after seeing the story on the NY Times City Room blog -- but the story of an everyday hero still strikes a chord.
And we'd love to recognize more of them! Please keep an eye out for these stories in your neck of the wood, whether it's in your local paper or someone you know, and make sure to send their stories our way. Please e-mail living@huffingtonpost.com with any recommendations.