exit yes, but not too quickly

April 7th, 2012

It's a weekday. It's morning. The train arrives at the destination full of commuters. The platform is mingling with commuters waiting to get on the train to go where we just came from. We disembark. A sea of people as these two streams conflate and confuse. As we head to the exits and they board the train we slowly disentangle. There are so many of us that a long line forms before the escalator down from the platform. Not even a line, more of a V-shaped traffic jam that extends to nearly the whole width of the platform. Slowly we converge on the escalator that shall deliver us from this overcrowded place. We could only wish the line were moving faster. Then, at last, we've made it, we step onto the escalator and... just stand there. All this waiting just to be able to stand in line some more? Yes, the escalator is moving, but why not walk down it? Especially since there are so many people, we'd be able to exit the platform quicker that way. But that isn't the custom. Apparently, if something moves us we must not move ourselves, we must appreciate and make it last as long as possible.

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