Murphy's Metro

It seems like anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong on the red line of the metro. Last Monday there was the metro accident. This Monday someone committed suicide right before rush hour. And today, as people were pushing to get into the metrocar, a woman hit her head and had a seizure. They had to unboard the train and run it on a single line during afternoon rush hour. Fortunately, I think she is ok now, but it is so sad.

Needless to say, it has been a rough two weeks for the DC metro system, which besides occasional track work at inopportune times, is usually highly regarded by residents and tourists. Some of these events are part of the domino effect--metro accident means that trains are running more slowly, and therefore are more full, which lead to more pushing and shoving. I just wish people would relax and learn that even waiting 10 minutes for the next train, while annoying, is not the worst thing in the world.

I know for me, it has been somewhat of a reality check. While I get impatient waiting for the metro with really annoying teenagers or very loud tourists, and I am thinking that I need to get back home to do a billion more practice questions, it's a reminder that there are bigger things than just a test.

Hopefully things will cool down a little bit after the Forth of July weekend (pray there are no disasters then). I have a feeling that I will be reuniting with my friend the bus this weekend or convincing Alex to drive me. And lucky that I have afternoon classes, I will be avoiding rush hour for the next few weeks as much as I can. I hope metro incidents, like celebrity deaths, only come in threes.

[Picture courtesy of David Fettig at PublicDomainPictures]