Passage: THE presidents of the New York Central and the New York, New Haven and

Hartford railroads will swear on a stack of timetables that there are only two. But I say there
are three, because I’ve been on the third level of the Grand Central Station. Yes, I’ve taken
the obvious step: I talked to a psychiatrist friend of mine, among others. I told him about the
third level at Grand Central Station, and he said it was a waking dream wish fulfillment. He
said I was unhappy. That made my wife kind of mad, but he explained that he meant the
modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it, and that I just want to
escape. Well, who doesn’t? Everybody I know wants to escape, but they don’t wander down
into any third level at Grand Central Station.

Word Meaning: Stack- a pile of objects, typically one that is neatly arranged Timetables- a
schedule showing the departure and arrival times of trains, buses or aircraft Waking dream-
an involuntary dream occuring while a person is awake Wander- walk; roam

Explanation of the above passage: The story begins with the mention of a third level at the
Grand Central Station (which only has two levels in real). The protagonist himself is aware
that even the Presidents of New York Central and the New York, New Haven and Hartford
railroads would express great confidence in the existence of only two levels but he himself
has been to the third level. Considering the entire scenario, Charley, the protagonist had a
word with his psychiatrist friend. He explained that Charley was experiencing a ˜waking
dream wish fulfillment or in other words, hallucination. According to the psychiatrist,
Charley was unhappy (the fact her wife did not like). Upon explaining further, it became
clear that it is the burden of all the modern problems that is pushing him to experience the
apparent perception of something not present. He tends to escape the reality. Charley agreed
with what his psychiatrist friend had to say but he still found it a bit odd to have been to the
third level of the Grand Central Station.

Passage: But that’s the reason, he said, and my friends all agreed. Everything points to it, they
claimed. My stamp collecting, for example; that’s a temporary refuge from reality. Well,
maybe, but my grandfather didn’t need any refuge from reality; things were pretty nice and
peaceful in his day, from all I hear, and he started my collection. It’s a nice collection too,
blocks of four of practically every U.S. issue, first-day covers, and so on. President Roosevelt
collected stamps too, you know.

Word Meaning: Refuge- the state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or difficulty

Explanation of the above passage: Charley begins to believe in the possibility that he has
been experiencing all this to escape the harsh realities of the modern world. His friends
agreed to it as well. Even his stamp collecting is a sort of asylum he resorts to in order to feel
protected. On the other hand, he starts thinking otherwise. His grandfather started his stamp
collection but in those days, they had not seen the consequences of war and there was peace,
harmony and security. His grandfather must have not been insecure. The collection, moreover
was amazing, with blocks of four of practically every U. S. issue. Even President Roosevelt
collected stamps.

Passage: Anyway, here’s what happened at Grand Central. One night last summer I worked
late at the office. I was in a hurry to get uptown to my apartment, so I decided to take the
subway from Grand Central because it’s faster than the bus.
Explanation of the above passage: He starts explaining what exactly happened and begins
with how he chose to take the Subway to his apartment instead of the usual bus after a late-
night shift. He did this in order to save time.

Passage: Now, I don’t know why this should have happened to me. I’m just an ordinary guy
named Charley, thirty-one years old, and I was wearing a tan gabardine suit and a straw hat
with a fancy band; I passed a dozen men who looked just like me. And I wasn’t trying to
escape from anything; I just wanted to get home to Louisa, my wife.

Word Meaning: Gabardine- a smooth, durable, twill-woven worsted or cotton cloth

Explanation of the above passage: He describes himself as an ordinary man of 31 dressed in a

Passage: I turned into Grand Central from Vanderbilt Avenue, and went down the steps to the
first level, where you take trains like the Twentieth Century. Then I walked down another
flight to the second level, where the suburban trains leave from, ducked into an arched
doorway heading for the subway and got lost. That’s easy to do. I’ve been in and out of
Grand Central hundreds of times, but I’m always bumping into new doorways and stairs and
corridors. Once I got into a tunnel about a mile long and came out in the lobby of the
Roosevelt Hotel. Another time I came up in an office building on Forty-sixth Street, three
blocks away.

Word Meaning: Suburban- residential Ducked- lower the head or body quickly Arched-
curved Bumping- knock or run into something

Explanation of the above passage: Charley comes to the part of the incident where he entered
the Grand Central from Vanderbilt Avenue and took the stairs to the first level where one
boarded trains like the Twentieth Century. Then he went down another floor to reach the
second level from where the suburban trains leave. From there he entered an arched doorway
and got lost. It was nothing unusual for him because even if he had come to that station a
thousand times, there were occasions he bumped into new corridors and doorways. Once he
entered the wrong lobby and reached Roosevelt Hotel and another time in an office building
which was three blocks away.

Passage: Sometimes I think Grand Central is growing like a tree, pushing out new corridors
and staircases like roots. There’s probably a long tunnel that nobody knows about feeling its
way under the city right now, on its way to Times Square, and maybe another to Central Park.
And maybe because for so many people through the years Grand Central has been an exit, a
way of escape maybe that’s how the tunnel I got into… But I never told my psychiatrist
friend about that idea.

Explanation of the above passage: He wondered that Grand Central was expanding at a very
fast rate just like a tree and with its roots. He it is no big deal that they even have a secret
tunnel under the city to the Times Square or maybe the Central Park. He feels it might be
because Grand Central is a place of exit for innumerable people, he also managed to escape
reality because of the same reason. Although he never shared it with his psychiatrist.
Passage: The corridor I was in began angling left and slanting downward and I thought that
was wrong, but I kept on walking. All I could hear was the empty sound of my own footsteps
and I didn’t pass a soul. Then I heard that sort of hollow roar ahead that means open space
and people talking. The tunnel turned sharp left; I went down a short flight of stairs and came
out on the third level at Grand Central Station. For just a moment I thought I was back on the
second level, but I saw the room was smaller, there were fewer ticket windows and train
gates, and the information booth in the centre was wood and old looking. And the man in the
booth wore a green eyeshade and long black sleeve protectors. The lights were dim and sort
of flickering. Then I saw why; they were open-flame gaslights.

Explanation of the above passage: The unusual corridor he had entered into began angling
left and slanting downward which he felt odd about but nevertheless, he kept on walking.
There was no one except him and the voice of his feet echoed. He finally heard the sound of
people talking from a distance, then he took a left and walked down the stairs again only to
reach the third level of the Grand Central. He thought he had somehow made his way back to
the second level but as he noticed, the room was smaller, there were fewer ticket windows
and train gates, and the information booth in the center was wood and old-looking. The man
in the booth was also different and the station was dim-lit for there were open-flame
gaslights.

Passage: There were brass spittoons on the floor, and across the station a glint of light caught
my eye; a man was pulling a gold watch from his vest pocket. He snapped open the cover,
glanced at his watch and frowned. He wore a derby hat, a black four-button suit with tiny
lapels, and he had a big, black, handlebar mustache. Then I looked around and saw that
everyone in the station was dressed like eighteen-ninety-something; I never saw so many
beards, sideburns and fancy mustaches in my life. A woman walked in through the train gate;
she wore a dress with leg-of-mutton sleeves and skirts to the top of her high-buttoned shoes.
Back of her, out on the tracks, I caught a glimpse of a locomotive, a very small Currier &
Ives locomotive with a funnel-shaped stack. And then I knew.

Word Meaning: Spittoons- a metal or earthenware pot typically having a funnel-shaped top,
used for spitting into Vest- a garment worn on the upper part of the body Snapped- break
suddenly and completely Locomotive- a powered railway vehicle used for pulling trains

Explanation of the above passage: Charley could see brass spittoons everywhere when
suddenly a glimpse of light caught his eye and he saw a man pulling his gold watch from the
vest. He was dressed in an old-fashioned style. Suddenly, he noticed that everyone was
dressed like the nineteenth century. It was basically the time before deadly wars. So many
beards and fancy mustaches all around, something that the protagonist had never seen before.
He even saw a very small Currier & Ives locomotive which made him sure about which time
he is in.

Passage: To make sure, I walked over to a newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his
feet. It was The World, and The World hasnâ’t been published for years. The lead story said
something about President Cleveland. I’ve found that front page since, in the Public Library
files, and it was printed June 11, 1894.

Explanation of the above passage: To validate his suspicion, he went over to the newspaper
boy who was selling The World, a newspaper which was discontinued years ago. There were
some headlines about the then President Cleveland. The date on the front page was also June
11, 1894. He was now sure.

Passage: I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that here on the third level at Grand
Central I could buy tickets that would take Louisa and me anywhere in the United States we
wanted to go. In the year 1894. And I wanted two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois. Have you
ever been there? It’s a wonderful town still, with big old frame houses, huge lawns, and
tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the streets. And in 1894, summer
evenings were twice as long, and people sat out on their lawns, the men smoking cigars and
talking quietly, the women waving palm-leaf fans, with the fire-flies all around, in a peaceful
world. To be back there with the First World War still twenty years off, and World War II
over forty years in the future… I wanted two tickets for that.

Explanation of the above passage: Immediately, he went to the ticket window to get the
tickets for Galesburg, Illinois for him and his wife. It was a wonderful town with a lot of
greenery. He was well aware that from here one could buy tickets that would take them
anywhere in the United States. He describes how things were in 1984 before the two World
Wars took place. Evenings were twice as long as they are now and men and women living in
peace and serenity.

Passage: The clerk figured the fare he glanced at my fancy hatband, but he figured the fare”
and I had enough for two coach tickets, one way. But when I counted out the money and
looked up, the clerk was staring at me. He nodded at the bills. That ain’t money, mister,he
said, and if you’re trying to skin me, you won’t get very far, and he glanced at the cash
drawer beside him. Of course the money was old-style bills, half again as big as the money
we use nowadays, and different-looking. I turned away and got out fast. There’s nothing nice
about jail, even in 1894.

Word Meaning: Clerk- administrator

Explanation of the above passage: As the clerk calculated the fare, he looked at Charley”
fancy hatband. Charley just had enough for one sided journey. Just as he took out money, the
clerk informed that this is not the acceptable legal tender and by any chance if he tried to be
smart, he won’t be able to get away with it. He glanced at his cash drawer and realised that
currency used back then was different and almost double the size. He ran out because he
didn’t want to go to jail.

Passage: And that was that. I left the same way I came, I suppose. Next day, during lunch
hour, I drew three hundred dollars out of the bank, nearly all we had, and bought old-style
currency (that really worried my psychiatrist friend). You can buy old money at almost any
coin dealers, but you have to pay a premium. My three hundred dollars bought less than two
hundred in old-style bills, but I didn’t care; eggs were thirteen cents a dozen in 1894.

Explanation of the above passage: The day ended after he came out. The next day he went to
withdraw his entire savings and got them converted into old money by paying some amount
of premium. It cost him much and even worried his psychiatrist friend but he still went with
it. Back then, eggs cost thirteen cents a dozen.

Passage: But I’ve never again found the corridor that leads to the third level at Grand Central
Station, although I’ve tried often enough. Louisa was pretty worried when I told her all this,
and didn’t want me to look for the third level any more, and after a while I stopped; I went
back to my stamps. But now we’re both looking, every weekend, because now we have proof
that the third level is still there. My friend Sam Weiner disappeared! Nobody knew where,
but I sort of suspected because Sam’s a city boy, and I used to tell him about Galesburg ” I
went to school there” and he always said he liked the sound of the place. And that’s where he
is, all right. In 1894.

Explanation of the above passage: But unfortunately, he could never find the way to the third-
level corridor again despite hard efforts. His wife Louisa was pretty worried when she got to
know about it all. After a while, he went back to finding distractions with the help of stamps.
Somehow, Sam, the psychiatrist disappeared out of the blue. Charley suspected that he had
gone to Galesburg. He finds himself in the time-space of 1894.

Passage: Because one night, fussing with my stamp collection, I found. Well, do you know
what a first-day cover is? When a new stamp is issued, stamp collectors buy some and use
them to mail envelopes to themselves on the very first day of sale; and the postmark proves
the date. The envelope is called a first-day cover. They are never opened; you just put blank
paper in the envelope.

Word Meaning: Fussing- show unnecessary or excessive concern about something

Explanation of the above passage: One night Charley came across a first-day cover. It is an
envelope (with a stamp on it) that stamp collectors mail to themselves on the first day of its
sale to mark the date. They are just blank inside and are not meant to be opened.

Passage: That night, among my oldest first-day covers, I found one that shouldn’t have been
there. But there it was. It was there because someone had mailed it to my grandfather at his
home in Galesburg; that’s what the address on the envelope said. And it had been there since
July 18, 1894 ” the postmark showed that” yet I didn’t remember it at all. The stamp was a
six-cent, dull brown, with a picture of President Garfield. Naturally, when the envelope came
to Granddad in the mail, it went right into his collection and stayed there ” till I took it out
and opened it. The paper inside wasn’t blank. It read:

Explanation of the above passage: That night he found by surprise one of his grandfathers old
first day covers. Someone had mailed it to his father at his home at Galesburg, as he saw from
the address on the envelope. The post mark showed that it had been there since July 18, 1894.
The stamp had a picture of President Garfiled on it. It was a six cent, dull brown colour
stamp. His grandfather had put put it in his stamp collection and the Charley now discovered
it. The paper inside and a letter written in it. The letter read as:

Passage: 941 Willard Street Galesburg,

Illinois

July 18, 1894

Charley

I got to wishing that you were right. Then I got to believing you were right. And, Charley, it’s
true; I found the third level! I’ve been here two weeks, and right now, down the street at the
Daly’s, someone is playing a piano, and they’re all out on the front porch singing Seeing
Nelly [Link] I’m invited over for lemonade. Come on back, Charley and Louisa. Keep
looking till you find the third level! It;s worth it, believe me!

Explanation of the above passage: The letter talked about how the writer wished his third
level story was true until he actually started believing it to be true. He had found the third
level and had been there for two weeks. He describes the place he was at that time. He asks
Charley and Louis to never stop searching for the third level and come back.

Passage: The note is signed Sam.

At the stamp and coin store I go to, I found out that Sam bought eight hundred dollar’s worth
of old-style currency. That ought to set him up in a nice little hay, feed and grain business; he
always said that’s what he really wished he could do, and he certainly can’t go back to his old
business. Not in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1894. His old business? Why, Sam was my
psychiatrist.

Explanation of the above passage: The letter had been signed off as Sam. Charlie found out
from the coin store that he used to visit that Sam had bought old currency worth eight
hundred dollars., which was to be utilised in a hay, feed and grain business, which what he
always wished to do. He could not go back to his old business certainly not in Galesburg,
Illinois. The story ends at a mysterious note where Charlie is wondering that Sam is
psychiatrist