The New York City Tourism Association Thanks You for Visiting the Apple Store

by Matthew J.X. Malady

People drop things on the Internet and run all the time. So we have to ask. In this edition, Slate Assistant Editor Miriam Krule tells us more about intergenerational information transfer at the Apple store in Grand Central Terminal.

Working from Apple store in Grand Central where a teen is teaching old ladies how to use a comp. Tourist just walked by and took photos.

— Miriam Krule (@miriamkrule) October 8, 2014

Miriam! So what happened here?

I was heading to Connecticut to celebrate the festival of huts out in the wilderness. My ride had fallen through, so I was taking the train, but the only one that worked for various boring logistical reasons was essentially midday. My parents live in New Jersey, so even though I grew up in New York, I’ve spent very little time in Grand Central Station and didn’t exactly think things through, figuring I could work from there in the morning. I found a nice quiet corner, only to realize that there’s no magical train station Wi-Fi (coincidentally this was as news of “Wi-Fi is a human right” was blowing up). Just as I was about to cave and pay for it (aka, look for a Starbucks), I saw an Apple Wi-Fi option and basically searched for a strong connection and ended up in the Apple Store, which I had no idea existed. (For future reference, it’s on this majestic balcony overlooking the main floor. Also, it’s impossible to miss.)

Grand Central is a funny place, but the Apple Store in Grand Central is its own level of insanity. A) There’s an Apple Store less than a mile away B) Who makes expensive electronic purchase in a train station? Anyway, I found a quiet area and got to work. One of the Apple Genius people was chatting with her friend — who, incidentally, was nursing her newborn. (Everyone kept coming by and oohing and ahhing.) They were gossiping about a third friend, but the woman with the baby was holding an iPhone so it looked like she was asking questions. They were there for about an hour, so I figured if no one was bothering them, no one would bother me with my Apple product either.

Turned out though, it was quiet for a reason — it was the room that they have classes in. But C) Who goes to an Apple class in Grand Central Station? I just imagine these people being like, “Oh, I’ll take the 3:34 from New Haven so I can make that how to use the cloud class.” Anyway, the answer is old ladies. There were six of them sitting on those super uncomfortable high stools (I was getting cranky by this point — I’d bought lunch but thought it might be a bit more problematic if I whipped it out and started eating) learning how to send emails. Granted, that may not have been what the class was about, but that’s what it became. The teenage teacher did not bat an eye though. The women wanted to learn about email, so there was essentially an hour-long class about email. There was absolutely zero nuance to it — I zoned in and out, but just remember listening in and thinking “they’re STILL talking about email?” At one point, one of the women asked why the mailbox icon was shaped like an envelope. I wanted to jump in and opine about skeuomorphs, but thought better of it.

So this was all happening, which was amusing enough. Then, a GROUP OF TOURISTS WALKED BY. In a store in a train station. And took photos. Of the old ladies. It was so strange. They did not turn the flash off.

Did the teen seem to be getting through to the pupils?

To be honest, I was a bit preoccupied with my own stuff, but one of the women did come back and ask why what he had taught wasn’t working for her. He explained that she was using an iPhone, not a computer.

Lesson learned (if any)?
Train stations aren’t just for trains anymore. They’re for computer classes.

Just one more thing.

Trains are an awesome way to travel — especially in the beginning of fall. (I feel like saying that is somehow un-American.)

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Matthew J.X. Malady is a writer and editor who was in New York but is now in Berkeley.