Adventures With Sara

Holiday fever has set in and I'm late, even by my usual standards. It's grim outside, a cloud cover hovering above and, thanks to all the construction workers, the smell of cigarette smoke permeating the air.

I run into Sara S. at the station. Whoa! she says. She is really late, which must mean that I'm really really late. She's carrying a purse, her laptop (in a makeshift bag), and a wheely suitcase. I offer to help her across the turnstiles with the suitcase, knowing they tend to get stuck under the bar. She scowls about doing it herself but thirty seconds later, in typical Sara fashion, asks me to carry the bag down the steps.

On the train, Sara and I discuss blogging and she tells me all about her new Countdown to Vancouver blog. We also talk about the proper use of gChat status. It's nice to have run into her, since we had to cancel our weekly lunch meeting, which would have been today.

At 59th, our train, an express, pulls into the local track. As we get off, to switch to the Orange line, an announcer instructs all passengers waiting for an A to board our train. A previous A is halted on the express track, a sick passenger still on board. Save for a few police officers and Emergency Medical Services, it's empty.

The A on the local track doesn't leave right away, and it turns out to have malfunctioning doors. The conductors are unable to open the them. Finally, one door in each car is unclosed, allowing passengers to back onto the platform. One of the them doesn't see the open door and starts to panic, and Sara helps her by pointing to exit.

Once everyone is off, they close the doors again and prepare to wheel the train out of the station. Its then that a homeless individual, apparently asleep during the fiasco, presses his face against the inside pane of the window. We can't help but laugh at him, stuck inside, though Sara solemnly suggests he might shoot us if we continue.

On the express track EMS finally carts the sick passenger off on an upright stretcher. Ten more minutes pass and a B train finally arrives; we jump on and rush the rest of the way to work.