Missed Connections

If you meet someone who travels frequently, a sure conversation starter is to ask them what was their worst travel experience.  Often, but certainly not always, the tale they'll relate is a complicated fiasco of lost baggage or missed connections.   

Yesterday, I missed connections both coming and going.  Although I was only traveling on Washington's inexpensive Metro system, my missteps might have been costly.

And yes, brace yourselves for a convoluted tale!

Part One

On my calendar for yesterday morning was a Vacation Bible School planning session at the offices of my church, Emmanuel Presbyterian Church of Arlington.  To get there, I would need to switch Metro lines at Rosslyn. 

Arriving at the Rosslyn station, I got off the Blue Line train and walked down the escalator to catch the Orange one.  Halfway down the escalator, I realized that an Orange train was about to depart so I ran down the (luckily!) empty steps ahead of me.  Dashing through the still-open door of the nearest car, I breathed a sigh of relief that I'd caught this train because waiting for the next would make me 20 minutes late.

A young girl followed my mad dash and together we dropped into empty seats in the center of the car.  Drawing a breath, she asked me, "Is this the train to _________ ."

I didn't hear the name of the station she mentioned so I launched into my usual coping strategy, "Sorry!  I'm hard of hearing.  I didn't catch the name of the train station you need, but this train is the Orange line, heading west from the District and terminating in Vienna, Virginia." 

Reading in her face the worry that she had, in haste, caught a wrong train, I began to list the stations on this line.  "The next station after Rosslyn is Courthouse, then Clarendon...Virginia Square...Ballston..." She listened intently and gave me a relieved thumbs up at the name Ballston.  We both laughed at our ridiculous mad dash onto the train and our quirky method of communicating.

As she searched in her purse to find her Metro map, it hit me that I was hearing music.  Music on the Metro?  I thought the Metro was too strapped for cash to afford such an amenity.  Then, I realized the source of the music.  The black lady, seated a row ahead of us and across the aisle, was singing exuberantly, yet beautifully, along with her MP3 player.  Earplugs in place, she rocked out to her reflection in the window of the train, oblivious to the rest of us.

My seatmate and I laughed again, as we simultaneously realized this contributing factor to our missed connections in communication.  Idly scanning the other passengers beyond the singer, I found myself caught in the angry glare of a young black man.  Clearly, he thought we were laughing derisively at the woman. 

Dropping my eyes, I adopted the somber expression of an experienced Metro rider and mentally reviewed all the miscues I'd made since I'd boarded this train. Had I twirled my index finger near my left ear as I told my seatmate I was hearing impaired?  Was that unconscious gesture what earned me this guy's glare?  Then I wondered what mental baggage did the young man carry that led him to jump to such a conclusion. 

Bidding goodbye to my seatmate, I exited the train at the Clarendon stop.  Now, in hindsight, I see that I missed making some important cognitive leaps on this ride, connections that might have later changed the outcome of my Metro trip home!

Part Two

When my VBS meeting ended, I headed home, once again switching trains at Rosslyn, only this time from Orange to the Blue line.  Knowing that I had only a few stops before the train would reach my destination, I leaned against the partition near the car's exit to brace myself for the ride and glanced around at my fellow passengers.

A young black man stumbled up the aisle towards me.  As he drew nearer, I realized that he was begging for money.  None of the people he approached offered him any help. Most shook their head or simply ignored him as they focused their eyes elsewhere. 

A clamor of questions ran through my mind. Was this scruffy guy harmless or would he turn violent?  Did I have any cash in my bag?  Did he show symptoms of substance abuse?  Was it chump change or a larger bill in my wallet?  If he had no money, how did he get past the Metro turnstyle?  If I gave him money, would he use it for food or to support an addiction?  Did I still have that granola bar in my purse or had I eaten it?  Oops!  Time's up! 

"Lady, I need some money!"  "I don't have any cash with me," was my reply. 

"I've gone two days without food.  I'm hungry!"  As I looked into his eyes, all I could think to say was "I'm sorry!"

Turning, he made his way back up the aisle, importuning the few remaining passengers he'd missed earlier.  The train pulled into my station and I quickly exited.

As I rode up the escalator, I mentally berated myself, "What?  'I'm sorry?'  That's all you could offer that poor soul?  Why didn't you tell him that A-SPAN (Arlington Street People's Assistance Network) serves bag meals to the homeless daily during the summer months in the square a block north of the Rosslyn Metro station? Weren't you just there two weeks ago, handing out sacks of sandwiches with Cara and Bethany, two other A-SPAN volunteers from church?  Good grief, Cindy! You missed an important connection here." 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Lord, I don't want to ruled by fear but by Your love.  In the future, let me be quick to offer help to my neighbor.  And God, forgive me for doubting that you are always with me.  Oh, Lord, I wish I'd risked connecting with that young man.

For Further Reading

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is relatively safe.  In the past year, this is the first time I've encountered any threatening situation while using its system.

For more information about the safety of the Metro system, click here.
For a recent report of the Metro's crime statistics, click here.

The italicized prayer above is best known as the Prayer of  St. Francis of Assisi, although it has also been called A Prayer for Peace.  For a short history of this prayer, click here.

Might I also suggest reading The Holy Bible, beginning with God's summary of His redemptive plan for the world, found in John 3:16?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "  John 3:16