Oh, yeah and one more thing...

I know I already blogged today but I just saw something on the news that reminded me of something else. Did anyone hear about the CTA train that got stuck in the subway? Those of you who know the L, know there aren't too many places where that can happen. But last week, a blue line train got stuck underground. After a while of knowing nothing, passengers pulled the emergency door opener and decided to evacuate into the tunnel (thus risking life and limb -- I'm not kidding I know someone who died on the third rail about 4 years ago!) Anyway, what with passengers walking in the tunnel, the CTA had to cut all the power to the tunnel (also what they do in the case of suicide which anyone who rides the red line has a story about that!) With the electricity cut, the CTA folks couldn't do anything to try to move or fix the train, so they just let everyone off the train to walk through the tunnels and climb up through the escape hatch on the sidewalks of the loop. Nice, right?

Our transit system ROCKS. (No, I'm not serious). I spent the past 8 months waiting for the fabled 8-car train system, made possible by rebuilding half the Brown line stations. They finally started running the 8-car trains, but of course they run them half as much. So yes, I don't need to wait for 8 trains (sometimes 3) but I still have to wait just as long. AND unless I get the very last car of the train, it's just as crowded.

Furthermore, I'm a little bit of a scaredy cat. When I first moved here, I was a little afraid of some of the 2-3 foot wide platforms (not so much now that most have been rebuilt). But I still am a little scared about the trains themselves. I've blogged before about how I've seen people fall over on the train as we round a corner at a gazillion miles an hour. I saw somebody else fall the other day (that's what happens when the train tips and you're crowded in there like sardines!) Well today, I was standing on the train, and it takes off out of Chicago station, heading towards Sedgwick where those 2 big 90 degree turns are. I kid you not, our car was tipped at a 45 degree angle. And then we heard the metal stopper things scrap the ground. Everybody on the train looked terrified. I firmly believe it is indeed possible for a train car to tip over. Only 4 more months folks. Four more months.

Luckily the other half of the Brown line trains are now closed. So that means I get to take what is essentially an express train for the remainder of my time here.