Misadventures on the Metro

chapter 23
Thursday was crappy. Actually, the crappy part started Thursday night around 5:20 p.m. There I was – ear buds in place, jacket slung over one arm, enjoying the balmy January night as I strolled to my Metro station.

The short walk was met with no expectant bachelors and no weird singing – all signs pointed towards an uneventful ride home. At the platform, though, the mass of commuters indicated a tangle-up with train operations. My first thought was, "WHY?!" Then I laughed to myself because I’ve been tempting fate with thoughts and conversations about how miraculously un-crowded and delay-free the Metro has been lately. I should have kept my trap shut.

Eventually I squeezed on a train and, as indicated above, it was indeed a crappy ride home. Bolstering some residual holiday cheer, I got over it the second I stepped off the train.

I actually forgot this even happened until Monday morning. My usual morning phone call with my mom went something like this:

Mom: “What HAPPENED on the Metro?!”
Me: “Oh, yah, it was really crowded on Thursday. I have no idea why and it was really annoying.”
Mom: “No, a train derailed! DE-RAILED! And a lot of people were taken to the hospital. How did you not hear about this on the news?”
Me: “Really? Well great. Thanks, mom. I gotta go, I’m about to board the train.”

So much for my Metro-riding positive attitude.

The salt in the wound was finding the first e-mail in my inbox from a co-worker with “Metro Train De-rails” and a link to this Washington Post article.