Thursday, December 14, 2006
(6:45 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
The CTA and Stockholm Syndrome
This evening as I was on my way home, I found that the Red Line was running on the Loop tracks. This meant that all the people who would normally be underground were now swarming above the surface. The station was packed. Every single Brown Line that came through was packed. Inexplicably, approximately 47 nearly empty Green Lines came for every Brown or Red Line.I waited through four packed trains, before finally deciding to take a Green Line to Clark and Lake, then switch to Blue, then take the bus north. It was a nice blast from the past for me, waiting at the same station where Anthony and I used to wait after our night shifts at the data entry sweat shop.
A lot of people get mad about this kind of thing, which seems to happen more and more. I try to minimize it. If I start believing that the CTA is in a downward spiral, then I'll have to give in and start driving again. This blissful period, free of road rage and car insurance payments, will be over. I don't think I can go back. I can endure. I know many alternate routes. I'll bring a book, and it'll be fine, no matter how long it takes.
