2.21.2006

Metro Fun

Don't you love it when someone sprints past you trying to catch the train before it leaves the station? I don't just mean jogging at a leisurely pace; I mean jumping from the fifth stair on the escalator flailing about and putting your leg through the door so it has to reopen. That's always a hoot to watch.

I saw such an occurrence today at the Dupont stop. This guy was legitimately sprinting. I was taking the same track, but I took it easy. I won't risk life and limb when the next train, according to the Metro display, was arriving in one minute. But, hey, he made his train. He got to wherever he was going one minute faster than I would have.

I find such physical exertions to be unnecessary. Take it easy, man. Even if you have a hot date, he/she will tolerate it if you are one minute late.

Of course, if I was taking the Wednesday 11pm train and I saw my train getting ready to leave, I would sprint like a motherfucker. I don't care if you're a pregnant amputee; if you are in between me and that train, I will run straight through you like a Mack truck.

I would rather have an injured pregnant amputee on my conscience than have to wait 16 minutes for a train again.

4 comments:

  1. Rusty....i hear what you're saying, but c'mon...life here in DC is far, far too slow...i was born and raised in metro NYC and always thought people crazy saying that NYC area is all "hustle-n-bustle"...now i believe it...i take metro everyday and have to transfer at Gallery Place...if I can hop on that train and jam the closing doors, i'm gonna do it coz many times i've arrived at GP only to see the yellow line pulling away, only coz i couldn't get past either the hillie-billie local yocals or the zombie-tourists...

    i'm in the process of getting my ass back to the center of the world...

    fuck you very much, have a nice day :-)

    btw, i have many observations about the stupid-lame-brain locals here and the infrastructure/culture that promotes it...

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  2. I'm with ya on this one Rusty. I come from NYC, and people here don't appreciate the subtleties of rush hour. What's the big deal when the next train is ::gasp:: TWO MINUTES away? Woah. You might get home at 7:02 instead of 7 o'clock. I'd hate to miss the first two minutes of Wheel of Fortune or Everyone Wants To F***ing Blow Raymond's Brains Out.

    Of course, if it's after 8:30 p.m. (friggin' early city), I sprint like crazy, but that's because nothing makes my night quite like sitting in a Metro station for 20 minutes while the counter taunts me.

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  3. Okay, what you say makes sense and now I don't even get out of my seat (if it's not crowded) before the train makes a full stop.

    But some people lack excitement and need a rush of adrenaline. People sometimes need to play games to make it more interesting. I once sprinted full bore toward a door while a large black man sprinted in my direction (trying to get to a different door). Just before colliding I stepped slightly to the side while he executed a flawless spin-around like a running back dodging a tackle.

    We both looked back and smiled. It was a sweet move.

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  4. Matt, games like that should be played in traffic. If you need adrenaline at least make it a matter of life and death.

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