Hold onto whatever you can and get ready for the next great rollercoaster - DC Metro...at rush hour!
Last Thursday's metro ride home was quite eventful for my lowly 10-minute journey. I overhead someone on the platform say that around 3, trains were running 30 minutes apart which meant less trains to move more and more people. When I got to the platform just after 5, trains were running every 2 minutes as usual, but people were waiting 3 or 4 deep and had to let a train or two passby because there was no room. I only had to let one go buy before jumping onboard. And no, I didn't have to push my way on as some others did on the train before (not wearing my dress shirt gave me that necessary breathing room). I had just enough room to literally stand my ground through 3 stops.
Am I out of line with this comparison?
After reaching my stop, I realized being 3 or 4 deep wasn't so bad because now it was just a mass of people (8 deep) waiting to get a ride. When the doors opened there was no clear path onto the platform as those waiting clearly forgot how this whole let-people-off-first strategy works. As the lead person getting off, I made my intentions known and the sea of people parted like, well, the Red sea. Suddenly I felt like a celebrity (or Moses if you want to keep the pious theme) with bodyguards around me clearing a path to my stairwell of freedom (or like leading the Israelites out of Egypt). There were so many people on each side of the platform just staring at me that I felt like a celebrity. I almost thought I should stop and sign some autographs and deal with the paparazzi, but the reality they just stared at me because my seat was now open. If only for a fleeting moment, they were fans of me because I was off the train meaning more room for them.
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