How about your head? Or, maybe just all the contents from your purse?
Walk into any major Washington D.C. Metro station during rush-hour and you will see commuters, wearing business attire with sneakers, risking life and limb to cram onto crowded trains in an effort to shave a measly three minutes off their commute.
Let me set the scene for you:
It's 7:15 a.m. on Friday morning, my eyes-lids are heavy and my walk slowed. (I'm nursing a serious hang-over from one too many Hangar One Mandarin Blossom shots the previous night.) I step off the escalator just as a train is arriving.
The commuters already waiting on the platform group together around the doors and those just getting to the platform take off running towards the train. The chimes sound. The doors are closing. People are becoming frantic.
Just as I look up at the marquee and see that another train in coming in 1 minute, a middle-age woman leaps through the doors into one of the cars, crashing into the other riders who put out their hands to catch her. With the doors almost totally shut, a man decides that one minute is just too long to wait and sticks his right foot inside. The doors, which do not operate like elevator doors, slam against his foot.
The man remains stuck for a few seconds before the doors reopen to let him pass. Another man takes advantage of the situation and hurriedly hops onto another car. He makes it but his back-pack doesn't. Now he's pegged against the doors with his bag stuck outside. Luckily for him, the doors reopen half-way. He quickly pulls his bag into the train, the doors slam shut and the train takes off down the tracks.
Another train pulls up 30 seconds later.
17.4.09
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people are so ridiculous. it's amazing how many people I've seen get hurt, just to get to work 10 minutes earlier.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting! I live in Arkansas and we don't even have public transportation here!
ReplyDeleteimpatience is the death of us all. relax people, you'll get there.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who's seen a woman use her baby's stroller to try and keep the doors open.
ReplyDeleteTHE BABY WAS IN THE STROLLER.
Is this any different from those of us who, when driving to work, run yellows, speed, and sit in the middle of the intersection then turn left when the light turns red?
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I miss about taking the train to work is the lack of control. You can't do stupid, aggressive things (once you're on the train, apparently) or worry about what you can do to get there faster. It was very relaxing - I've definitely been under more stress since I started driving to work eighteen months ago.
That's just crazy. We don't have a train/subway system where I live, but I've used the subway in NYC before. Of course it wasn't during prime time work hours, so I didn't see anything like this.
ReplyDeleteImagine if people were to just leave for work 5 minutes earlier?
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ReplyDeleteI was in Paris this past may and the trains there are EXACTLY like that. the only difference there that there is here is that in Paris you have men playing the accordion and singing in the trains begging for money. It was quite a sight
ReplyDeletePeople are so crazy! It's amazing how people risk life and limb for nothing. I don't take publlic transportation to work, but there is usually that person in the car on the way to work who races by everyone, swerving in and out of traffic, only to get to the off-ramp light at the same time as me. Just relax people!
ReplyDeleteIf I'm really late (e.g. for a meeting) due to my commuter train arriving late, I may jog to the opening doors but never would I take a flying leap into the car! Although with our asinine time hawks here I guess I can understand the one minute late...or not lol so yeah most days I stand back and observe the chaos and then tweet or write about it ;)
ReplyDeletei like that you tagged this "people are funny." it's better than my interpretation, which is that people are kind of self-centered jerks.
ReplyDelete