Stephen Colbert is staring out at me from my desktop. It's unnerving. I'm going to have to change my wallpaper to something soothing. Did you know he was in DC yesterday? At the White House, no less? OK, well, at the gates of the White House.
In not so exciting DC news, NMAH has finally announced an official closing date, September 5th. Supposedly, it will reopen in summer 2008 but I'm taking bets on the real opening date. So far, I have received dates from 2009 to 2016. I'm going to have to come up with a good prize for the winner. Maybe a memento to remember the old museum.
Or maybe not.
I thought about posting a comment on this article at DCist but as my comment grew longer and longer, I figured no one wanted to hear it because it wasn't even on topic. So I bring to you, gentle readers, my little story about the mindless rudeness of DC commuters. Not that some aren't rude every day, but for the most part commuters don't get in each others' way. Even the clueless tourists aren't too annoying...as long as they don't stop at the end of an escalator. That's probably my top peeve, mainly because I've been stuck in that situation - moving escalator and massive crowd at top = having to jump onto the non-moving side of the escalator so as not to get trapped in a crush. But that's a story for another time.
I rarely ever take an elevator on Metro, mainly because they seem to be moving lavatories for the homeless and also, I'm perfectly able to stand/walk on an escalator. However, I have noticed that most people who ride the elevator to the street at Federal Triangle do not appear to need to take the elevator. They seem to simply take it because it's convenient. Since I see this happen every day, it's so commonplace, it doesn't even register anymore. There is one experience, though, that is burned into my memory forever and would probably keep me away from the elevators out of self-preservation. I'm telling you, those elevator people are cutthroat.
So one cold, winter morning, I was riding the Metro with my visiting sister and her baby. Baby in a stroller, mind you. We disembarked at Federal Triangle Metro station and headed for the elevator (obviously). The first car filled up without letting my sister on. That was kind of rude, but, well, ok. When the car returned, my sister was allowed on. That's when the mob (and these were all women) practically turned into a snarling pack of dingoes straight out of Wild Kingdom. Although I was clearly accompanying my sister, after she and her stroller were allowed to board, it was like the ocean rushed in to the elevator vacuum. I swear I heard a sucking sound as the mob of people ran aboard. Sadly, I was not prepared for the onslaught and was left behind, unable to board, facing my sister and mob. I pointed out that we were together and everyone standing there just blinked at me. No one moved. As the doors closed, I told my sister that I would meet her outside and started for the escalators.
Now, if you know Federal Triangle, you know that the escalators and elevator are not close together. It takes about 5 minutes to get up the escalators and then double back across the Ariel Rios plaza to get to the elevator, which has no shelter. Therefore, my sister (not pleased by then) had to wait in freezing temperatures with a baby for me to catch up all because selfish commuters couldn't be bothered to take 5 minutes out of their schedules to get some exercise and take an escalator. Metro often sucks in so many ways but this time, it was not their fault.
What's up with that? Lord know what kind of frenzy would happen if they had to let someone in a wheelchair on, since there would have been even less room for people. They'd probably set upon each other like rabid hyenas.
The other folks that exhibit a strange animal-like quality are those that rush onto a train full of fairly empty seats and sit in Priority Seating. Would it hurt you to take two more steps and sit in a non-priority seat? Sheesh.
Ok, enough about that.
( 10:40 EH | news. urban living. what is this world coming to? )How awful. What is happening to common courtesy in this world? This, along with lack of exercise, is what will bring hell to the handbasket. Rabid hyenas indeed.
That priority seating stuff is cross-cultural. I cannot count how many times when I was in Japan an ancient old man or enormously pregnant woman would get on the train only to be faced with a blank sea of stares or fake-sleepers in priority seating. We've given up our regular seats countless times, to gushing thanks, and I've only seen someone do it once in Japan. If only my Japanese was better, and I wasn't gaijin, there'd have been trouble. I know, I am the anti-Wa.
Posted by: saudade at 14.04.06 19:22