.

.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Did it change, or stay the same?

I will get back to the Great American Vacation, having stranded you, where, in Alabama was it? Been through several more states since then, many in the dark of night, and now even a different country. Things just got too busy mornings to deal with posting.
But, whatever.
In this pause between flights, with loading pictures not really an option, I wish to share with you some thoughts on the Washington DC Metro.
.
I was on my way to King Street following a lead on some yarn when I noticed the announcements of elevator outages for various stations, and the alternate station where disabled people could catch a shuttle to their destination. There would be three or four outages at any one time.
Announcement #1:
Elevator Outage
Rosslyn Station
Shuttle from Capitol South.
.
Announcement #2:
Elevator Outage
Capitol South Station
Shuttle from Rosslyn.
.
Ummmm
I must be missing something here. If you can't get off the metro at Rosslyn, they'll pick you up at Capitol South. But alas, Capitol South is out too...
Further pondering near a map reveals that these two stations are nowhere near each other. Huh? You must have to live here to know what that all means.
.
I think DC was actually my very first Metro experience. About 20 years ago, and man, was I impressed. It was all so very neat and efficient. The trains were so shiny and clean. The stations were so vast and airy and modern.
Today I wonder, was the system in fact clean and nice then and simply has never been updated since? Or was I dreaming, struck by the very existence of such a wondrous thing? The carpeting in the trains certainly looks 20 years old. As for the stations, perhaps some energy-saving campaign has determined that removing 2 out of every 3 light bulbs saves a lot of electricity (and money)? And naked concrete does really age very badly.
.
Oh, and no, there wasn't any of the right yarn. Though I did get a blister on my toe, the middle toe on the right foot where it gets rubbed by its neighbor, from walking all up and down and around and back again.
.

3 comments:

GingerV said...

America really IS slipping isn't it? It takes a trip into places like Norway or Chile to see that we have gotten old, and lazy. No lazy may not be the right word - complacent? maybe?
Why anyone would put carpet in a subway anyway? if the carpet in your house stays nice only five, if lucky 7 years or so, with only two people without shoes and a dog walking on it daily, carpet in a subway would need to be changed every 3 days or so.
Of all the places I have traveled I have never been to DC -

Tabor said...

The DC metro is falling apart. The metro cars and the escalators are running on borrowed time as most of the parts have to be machined to be replaced! On the radio the other day they said the company that made the escalators has long since gone out of business.

Tom said...

i was just there a few weeks ago and less than half of the escalators worked at that time...but riding beats walking, especially in 95 degree heat