Wearing a wire in the subway

Residents of NY city quickly develop a sense for interacting with the subway. When doors open, you step into the car and without looking, get a measure of the people, seated or standing by the end doors or the centers, map the range of attire, shoes and bags, and get a feel for where to stand to minimize having to move for the crowd or an opening door in the stations yet to come. You also notice who has a wire peeking out from behind their clothing, presumably connecting their ears to a music player hidden in their bag; the wire used to be black and brazen in the past, these days it is white, sleek and mostly hidden.

This morning, I noticed something out of the ordinary. An unkempt middle aged man was seated, frowning, sometimes speaking to himself, front buttons of his shirt open to reveal fuzzy hair, some grey, some greying, and amidst that was a circular white patch sticking to his skin, and taped to that was a coneshaped black microphone! Someone was wearing an actual wire!