Reader submission: WMATA passenger shortcomings

Metro Blur, by theqspeaks

We welcome the occasional reader submission here at The District Curmudgeon, and this little bit of righteous anger from our friend Jonathan Gitlin sums up what we're sure are pretty common feelings for many who use Metrorail on a daily basis.

Dear fellow WMATA passengers, here are some things I hate about you:

• Standing on the left on the escalators.
• Standing still at the exit of escalators, during rush hour.
• Standing still at the exit of escalators, during rush hour, pulling your enormous suitcase behind you.
• Standing in the doorway of the train I’m trying to get out, resolutely refusing to move an inch. No, I’m not sorry I barged you out the way.
• Meandering slowly up the platform, wandering from side to side as you go.
• Wearing sunglasses. Underground. When it’s already dimly lit. You look like a cretin.
• Eating. Are you blind, stupid, or just inconsiderate? Because it pretty clearly says no eating, you blind, stupid, inconsiderate fool.
• Schoolchildren.
• Having to deal with the pages of your copy of the Examiner that you littered all over the seat.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Let me add:

• Meandering slowly down the platform, during rush hour, in a crowd, pulling your tiny backpack on wheels behind you. You're an adult, carry the pack on your back, you lazy, inconsiderate, space-wasting fool. You're taking up the room of 4 people on this crowded platform!

Have a wonderful weekend!

State of Incompletion

As a former Michigander, it always bothered me to see the state represented without the Upper Peninsula or Isle Royale. A map showing only the Lower Peninsula, labeled "Michigan," is incomplete. End of story.

Map of "Michigan" from Van Diest Supply Company

When I see maps of Virginia like the one below in today's edition of the Washington Post's Express, without the Eastern Shore included, I wonder if Virginians are equally bothered.

Map of "Virginia" from the Express [PDF]

It bothers me to see maps produced without some level of concern for cartographic accuracy. This is the world we live in. Everyone can be a "mapper," but the level of quality is greatly diluted.

Irony: litter from Two Rivers PCS on its way to the Anacostia

I guess it's that time - the yearly litter bomb from Two Rivers Public Charter School.

Nearly a year ago to the day, I wrote about this school's lazy attempt at neighborhood outreach. They've printed the exact same flyer, on different colored paper, with updated dates, and done the same thing - hanging it on the fence of every house in the neighborhood.

Same thoughts as last year - couldn't they have procured a database of some sort so they know which homes actually have school-aged children? The vacant homes on the block aren't going to send to many children to any school. Same goes for the houses with retirees and those with DINKs.

Unfortunately, there was a pretty good breeze today, and many of the flyers blew off the fences and into the streets and gutters. Here are a few photos from our street.

Irony? Flyer from "Two Rivers"about to go down the drain toward one of those rivers.

They gave us three flyers this year. I guess one wasn't enough?

I could take a dozen more pictures of the treeboxes and gutters of our neighborhood, but I believe the point is clear enough. I wonder if teachers teachers at Two Rivers could take their students out for a real-world lesson about stewardship of our natural resources and how good neighbors aren't litterbugs.