Commuters

I'm seeing a new face of DC that I've never seen before: commuters. For as long as I've lived in DC, I've lived within walking distance of my job. Whether half a mile or, well, about 10 feet, I've been able to leave the car parked on the street for weeks at a time.

Now, I'm driving to work most days. Granted, it's only about a mile away, but who wants to walk a mile in the morning and night in DC December? I'm not commuting very far. In fact, it's probably not even far enough to warrant using that word to characterize my morning travels. But I'm learning a little about the personality of these people (that I'm now joining) and it's pretty funny.

As I drove down F Street this morning, I saw a nice big space between an SUV and a motorcycle and slowed down to prepare for my backwards move into the space. As I rolled to a stop parallel to the SUV, put my car into reverse, and checked my rearview mirror to commence my initial approach into the space, a rather large mini-van driven by a rather large and angry-looking woman zipped into the space from behind. Horn was blaring, arms were flailing. Clearly, this space was not going to be mine. I have no idea where this woman came from or what reason she had for laying claim to this space. But that was fine, she could have it. I drove around the block. Thinking about how big the space was, I pondered that it was quite possible that both of us could fit into the space. As I rounded the corner, I saw that, indeed, both of us could fit into the space. However, she parked square in the middle of the SUV and the motorcycle, thereby preventing me (or any other car that might get in her way) to share the space.

I laughed and drove on. I hope this woman's day turns out to be better than her morning!