On August 26, 1999, New York City experienced a torrential downpour. The merciless rain caused the streets to flood. New York City’s subway system came to a screeching stop as the subway stations were drowned in water. Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour.

Many people who were going to work were trapped and forced to go home. Some battled with fellow New Yorkers to hail a cab or to get on a bus. Still others braved the storm, walking miles to get to work.

I happened to be one of the people on their way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most service had stopped. After running around like crazy and making my way through crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was operating. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to board the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the platform. Determined to get to work, I decided to take the train uptown several stops and then switch back to the downtown train. It was annoyance, but it paid off. However, the train got more packed at each stop. People pushed and shoved. I was constantly hit with elbows and bags. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (no end), the train reached my stop.

But the journey was not over yet. I would still have to walk several blocks to get to my office. When I finally got to work, I was completely soaked and left a puddle of water everywhere I sat. I was also exhausted (tired out) and discouraged from my commute.