The joys of the 4/5 express train

So every morning I hop on the 4/5 express train to the upper east side. Some days I have pleasant experiences, some days not so much, and some days I am thoroughly entertained by what I find on board. I thought I would share a few of these experiences with you...
Almost every day a homeless man comes in and of course asks everyone for money or food... this in itself is not so exciting but the way in which they go about asking I find pretty funny. There is one man that has come on my train a handful of times and each time I have heard him give the same speech which begins, "Ladies and gentlemen, someone stupid stole my shoes today and I was arrested..." Sweet old man. How sad that his shoes get stolen every single day:)
A few times I have also been lucky enough to have a live Mariachi band perform for me on my trip home. Those guys are actually great... I wonder if they make a good living working the subways. Curious. Maybe I should start a band.
Lastly, the dancers. I have seen quite a few dance groups perform on the trains,
but there is this one dance group that I have seen that is definitely note worthy. These 4 gangster looking guys walk on with a huge stereo, set it down on the ground and ask everyone to clear the middle. Then they proceed to perform a dance routine that consists of doing flips down the entire length of the train, barely missing the poles in the center. I thought they were going to die. I was most definitely impressed.
Most people in the subway have learned to just pretend like they dont hear anyone giving a speech, asking for money, or singing a song and ignore any performance for money all together. I dont know how they do it. I get all excited and clap and pull out all the money I have... I'm such a sucker.
Yesterday I didnt have such a nice experience. I was sitting and reading my book so I didnt look up when an old man sits right next to me. Then I hear a gross nasty burp. I look over and this old man is flanked by two girls holding a bag in front his mouth. Without thinking I jump off my chair and choose to stand by the door. In my mind I thought this was completely reasonable... who wants to sit by a stranger that is clearly about to hurl everywhere? not me. But the two girls with him did not agree and thought I was very rude and dont worry, they let me and the whole train know how rude it was. At the time I turned toward the door and pretended like I didnt hear a thing but I would now like to take this time to share my deepest apologies.
Dear stranger, I am so sorry for the way I reacted to your sick friend yesterday. Please do not take it personally. I would not want to sit next to a stranger, best friend, mom, baby, sister, brother, or any living creature that was about to vomit. I must have a phobia or something. Please forgive me.