My Subway Map Is My Memory Album

"Like many New Yorkers, I have a tattered train map tucked in my purse. My map is peppered with black check marks, however, one next to every subway station where I've disembarked.

I have certain rules to earn a checkmark, not unlike a child earning a gold star in class. I have to get off the train at the actual stop - if I'm merely passing through, it's not the same. And in order for the stop to count, I need to walk at least five blocks in one direction away from the train stop to get a feel for the neighborhood."

Thanks to Chris Steins