Adventures on the Metro

Oh boy! The metro the metro... Well, the metro is a crazy place. Definitely not as crazy as the subway in New York, not as crowded as the one in London (I'm guessing?) But the metro here in D.C. is still CRAZY!!! Sometimes amusing, sometimes worrisome, sometimes a little scary, but always crazy! I've been waiting for a while to write a post about the metro because I wanted to get some more good stories. And I think last night gave me all the material I needed. (More about that in a minute). So without further ado here are some fun things that happened while I was riding the metro:
1.) Getting stuck in the door- The metro door (or so I'm told) used to open up again if you happened to be in the doorway while it was closing. I guess people started taking advantage of that too much and delaying trains because now the door does not open up anymore. I've seen a few people get stuck and it always makes me concerned and yet amused. One man with very very long dreds got three of his dreds stuck in the door of the train. He gently tugged on them to see if they would come loose but because dreds are kinda fragile (I think?) he had to wait until the next stop to free them. All the while standing there looking sheepish and embarrased.
I've seen people get their backpacks stuck, one guy had his foot stuck. Another man was so determined to get on the train he pried the doors open (or at least tried). The train driver guy yelled at him over the intercom. The man just told him to "shut up" and he got on anyway.
2.) Close calls aka professional metro riders- Some people have been taking the metro for years and feel comfortable enough to judge whether or not they can make it onto the train or not. They slip in turning sideways as the doors close. They run onto the train at the very last possible second and they don't get caught or stuck. I think these people are highly skilled but I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I will risk getting stuck in the doors.
3.) Getting separated- Sometimes there is a big group of people, especially now that tourist season is starting up. And sometimes someone gets left behind. It's sad! You look out the window and see their stricken face as the train zooms off (okay sometimes it's kinda funny but not if it happens to you!) The craziest/scariest separation story I didn't actually see but I heard about it from my boss. A mom was getting on the metro with her baby in a stroller... the stroller got on but the mom didn't.... But luckily the people who saw it took the baby out and waited at the next station for the mom. But still!!! If you have a baby, you should not try to be one of the "professional metro riders".
4.)Trouble on the metro- Sometimes people get in fights on the metro. Kinda scary. You can look them up on youtube... Also sometimes girls like to gang up on you (and by you I mean me) and call you all kinds of names but you just pretend not to hear them and hope they don't follow you off the train. Yes, this happened to me... Stupid mean girls...
5.)And last but not least THE CRAZY PEOPLE ON THE METRO- There are crazies who take this lovely public transit system. They talk to you, sit next to you, ask you for money, tell you their life story, or shout gibberish. The key is pretending that they are not there. Now, I've seen this happen to plenty of other people on the metro but never me until now... Last night as I was in a practially empty metro station waiting of the train. I sat down on a bench since it was going to be a 15 min wait because it was late at night. I was sitting on the very end of the bench so if someone else wanted to sit down we wouldn't have to sit right next to each other because hello, that's awkward. Anyway, I was sitting at the edge of the bench and this asian man was standing next to it. I was listening to my ipod and the next thing I know the man sits down on the one inch of bench that I'm not sitting on. So basically he sits right on me! I look at him and take out my earbud and I'm like "oh sorry, I'll scoot over". He seems appeased by this. I notice the lovely smell of alcohol all over him. So I scooted over and he starts scooting closer every time! And then he starts talking to me in some asian language (korean??) but even I can tell he's probably slurring whatever he's saying even though I don't speak the language. So I pull out my phone and text several people about what's happening. And I keep ignoring him which is really hard for me because I hate being rude to people. But I've learned when you live in a big city, sometimes you just have to be rude. He keeps talking to me and gesturing to the tracks and all around. I keep ignoring him. My friend Heather calls, concerned for my safety and he gets up and walks away. Well, he didnt' exactly walk away. He stumbled away in a zig-zaggy fashion. I feel concerned that he may fall onto the tracks. After assuring Heather that I am indeed fine, a woman sits down next to me, gives me a huge goofy grin and says hi. Which is kinda weird because people around here don't chat with you, especially not waiting for a train. Then I smell the alcohol on her and understand her cause for extra friendliness. Then my train pulls up and I go home. CRAZY PEOPLE!!! I love riding the metro. The end.