The only thing I miss about the NY Subway is the surprise entertainment offered in the trains and on the platforms. Everything from doowop on the #1 to flamenco dancing at Roosevelt/Jackson Heights. I never saw it as begging. After a grim day and a grimmer commute I was always grateful for the moment of pleasure. In summer, I would occasionally see some very young break dancers hoping to be discovered - some amazing talent there. I always carried a few singles in my pocket and when the performance deserved it - a fiver.

I have to admit I always pass up the mimes- annoying little idiots obviously begging for attention. But how could anyone resist a piano on wheels and a concerto in the park? When I worked near Grand Central there an elderly black man who sang spirituals every morning in the tunnel between the 7 and E trains. What a great way to start the morning. And a nice break from the panhandler with an artificial leg whose sad story changed from day to day -he lost it in Viet Nam, he was run over by a train, infection, cancer - and who threatened to come back tomorrow and rob me if I didn't give him money today. That's begging.