17 VI 2002 - 23:15 - trivialis42

MUNI Story #34178956134785: Getting Stuck In The Tunnel, version ten hundred thousand twenty

So today I took BART back from Berkeley, having stayed over after class to study with a few other people (I don't really learn from these sessions; I just figure out how much I don't know, gasp! I'm screwed). Getting to BART was uneventful; so was transferring to MUNI. I finally went in the right direction so that I could get from BART (bottom floor of the station) to the fare gates (top floor) to MUNI (middle floor) with a minimum of walking. I'm a fan of the signs that say "Transfer to MUNI." I never noticed them before.

Anyway, I'd just missed the L, and of course the next two that came were the two I couldn't take (J and N - they spin off from the main line, which runs under Market Street and basically goes diagonally through San Francisco.) They took almost every car that came inbound out of service, so it was a while before an M came. Which, you know, I'm used to. MUNI. Right.

But then (after however many stops it is) we pulled into Castro station, which is actually one of my favorite stations because of how nice it is to sit in Harvey Milk Plaza, which no one actually knows is a plaza because it looks like the landing to a staircase. Which is not the point. A woman who was entering the train turned her foot sideways as she stepped (who knows why?) and got caught in the gap between the platform and the car. A couple of people held the doors open while some other people went to tell the driver what was happening. Right now, I feel bad for the woman, but there's nothing I can do, yes? After all, she is being helped.

So we sit, and she tries to extricate herself, and everyone else tries to help her, and then two police officers come and help her, and the station manager comes to help her, and it's just a fun experience for all concerned, because, well, she got caught in the car, and the station manager is probably worrying about liability, and there are antsy children in the car, and it's warm and the ventilation is sort of weird on MUNI anyway. She's finally released and she makes her way into the car, saying she's fine.

Do we move? Of course not! The station manager pokes her head in and asks her a series of questions, to which the answers of the woman who got stuck went basically like: 'yes, i would like assistance, please. no, i would not like assistance; i'm fine. i'd like to make a report about this incident, please; actually, i need to get somewhere, i don't think i'll make a report. what does making a report do? yes, my leg hurts. no, my leg doesn't hurt.' after this fun, five-minute exchange, conducted through the open doors of the streetcar, she steps off again, about to show the station manager what she did. at least she didn't get caught again, but only because everyone stopped her from doing the same thing. finally we were off.

now, indecision is well and good. i will admit to having more than a touch of indecision myself. but just maybe could this have been decided on the platform?

gah. so that's why i was later than i wanted to be coming home today. i'm done whining now about how i'm annoyed. now i can feel some sympathy.