It was every subway rider’s nightmare, times two.
Who has ridden along New York’s 656 miles of subway lines and not wondered: “What if I fell to the tracks as a train came in? What would I do?”
And who has not thought: “What if someone else fell? Would I jump to the rescue?”
Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker and Navy veteran, faced both those questions in a flashing instant yesterday, and got his answers almost as quickly.
Mr. Autrey was waiting for the downtown local at 137th Street and Broadway in Manhattan around 12:45 p.m. He was taking his two daughters, Syshe, 4, and Shuqui, 6, home before work.
Nearby, a man collapsed, his body convulsing. Mr. Autrey and two women rushed to help, he said. The man, Cameron Hollopeter, 20, managed to get up, but then stumbled to the platform edge and fell to the tracks, between the two rails.
The headlights of the No. 1 train appeared. “I had to make a split decision,” Mr. Autrey said.
So he made one, and leapt.
Mr. Autrey lay on Mr. Hollopeter, his heart pounding, pressing him down in a space roughly a foot deep. The train’s brakes screeched, but it could not stop in time.
Five cars rolled overhead before the train stopped, the cars passing inches from his head, smudging his blue knit cap with grease. Mr. Autrey heard onlookers’ screams. “We’re O.K. down here,” he yelled, “but I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s O.K.” He heard cries of wonder, and applause.
Power was cut, and workers got them out. Mr. Hollopeter, a student at the New York Film Academy, was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. He had only bumps and bruises, said his grandfather, Jeff Friedman. The police said it appeared that Mr. Hollopeter had suffered a seizure.
Mr. Autrey refused medical help, because, he said, nothing was wrong. He did visit Mr. Hollopeter in the hospital before heading to his night shift. “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help,” Mr. Autrey said. “I did what I felt was right.”
Bravo, bravo!!! He deserves every accolade that is bestowed to him!!!
Take a clean one-gallon jug and pour in the following:
Shake it all up and drink 8-12 glasses a day.
Warning: You will experience cravings, aches, pains, mental irritability and fatigue. These are symptoms of your body's detoxification.
If you really want to flush your system, proponents of the Master Cleanse recommend doing the following:
1. Go to your local health food store and get an herbal laxative tea that contains senna. While you're there purchase about 1 cup of non-iodized sea salt.
2. Every morning, before your lemonade, mix two teaspoons of the sea salt with a quart of water and chug. Make sure you are near a toilet and have about an hour to spare. You'll need it.
3. Every night, drink a cup of your laxative tea.
This fast should not be used for more than 10 days and you should wait at least four weeks before repeating it. Supposedly this fast dissolves toxins and is great for breaking up mucous. (That much lemon and cayenne will clear anybody's sinuses!)
Whatever you do, do not go directly back to a rich diet after your time on this fast. In fact, the best thing to do during a fast like this is to start setting your mind to healthy eating so that when you go off the fast you can start fresh on a healthy nutrition plan that will keep you body clean and strong. To ease out of the fast, do the following:
On the first day after your fast, drink unsweetened fruit juices.
On the second day, you can begin to eat fruit.
On the third day you may begin to eat light foods. Whatever you do, do not "wake up" your digestive system with high fat foods. It could be a very painful awakening.
If you try this, please leave a comment below to let me know how it worked.
