Hello? Are you there?
A few weeks ago Zes mentioned an article she saw at the Washington Post. The article is about a world renown violinist playing at a commuter train station and thousands of people walking past, not seeing him there.
Each day as I pass through Union Station and board my bus to work (and then again on the way home), I see people who are completely oblivious to the world around them, reminding me of the article. At least 3 times a week as my bus turns from Canal onto Lake there are people who are so absorbed in their own world that they are nearly run over by the turning bus. Or they are in such a hurry they run into the path of the bus. In defense of the bus driver, as he/she is in mid turn, the angle the pedestrian is coming from is a complete blind spot, when they started the turn, no one was there how are they to know that someone has suddenly appeared. One woman was so angry at the bus driver, she chased the bus down Lake Street shouting at the driver. She even went so far as to walk into the middle of the street to approach the bus and yell at the driver. I wanted to get up and shout at her, “it’s not the driver’s problem, it’s YOURS! Don’t walk into the path of a turning bus!” A week later a guy runs into the street and into the path of the bus in mid-turn to catch the light. He wasn’t there when the bus started turning so as she made the tight turn the driver nearly ran him down. He screamed at her “I had the light” And she and I shouted back in unison “So did I!” (I actually shouted “So did the bus!” I couldn’t help it, it’s an automatic reaction to stupidity, I need to shout back at the dumb people.) I want to point out that although you MAY have the right of way, that doesn’t include when a bus has already started turning and you’re not in the crosswalk when it starts making the turn. Think it over, you versus a bus – who’s really going to win? Would you prefer to get to your destination alive and late? Or not reach your destination at all because you’re dead from getting hit by a bus?
I see similar behavior each evening as I’m waiting for Yo Master D at the train station. If you want a great place to people watch, stand near the platforms at Union Station. There are always the “mad-dashers” who are trying to catch the train at the last minute. They run down the escalators and across the hall to their platform as the clock ticks down the final seconds before the doors close. They will push senior citizens and tiny children out of the way to make that train. It is as if that’s the ONLY train of the evening that will get them home. I guess waiting 20 minutes between trains is like a lifetime for them.
Then there’s the swarm of people who get off the train at 6pm. Every day they file toward the escaltors and it isn’t until they’re standing in the path of all the people coming downstairs that they realize these escaltors all go down. None of them go up. Then they stand in the path of all the “mad-dashers” trying to figure out how to get upstairs. Not a single one of them can stop to read the sign on the wall telling them that in the PM Rush hours these escalators all go down, and that they should take the other escaltor that is around the corner.
When there’s a delay and they have Metra employees standing by the platforms using bullhorns annoucing the delay, the reason for the delay and alternate trains and platforms people should take. Everyone still walks up to the person and asks, “What’s going on? Where’s the next train to Naperville?” The guy just told them all about it, but no one bothered to listen.
The Washington Post “experiment” proves that as you get older, you sink deeper and deeper into your own world. We all need to come out and stop to smell the roses. Life is passing us by and none of us seems to be noticing.
