This post is a long-form post that is a story about two people I met last night, “Ms. David” and “Michael,” and both are employees of WMATA, DC’s mass transit system. While it is long, if you do happen to read the entire post, you will find stories of customer service, community service, and … people who just really, really care. I hope it leaves you inspired to take be present and take the time to interact with and help those around you, no matter the circumstance.
For both Ms. David AND Michael, if this story is not going above and beyond the call of duty for another human being in the name of caring and compassion, I don’t know what is. In a situation that otherwise could have been extremely frustrating and inconvenient, these two complete strangers, for a few moments, completely ignored my disability in order to make sure that I got where I needed to go. Especially with strangers, that doesn’t always happen to me. It just makes me hold onto the fact that there are still great, amazing, service-minded, others-centered folks out there in the world. You just have to give yourself the opportunities to meet them.
Thanks for reading!
As I sit down to write this blog this morning, I’m honestly not sure where it’s going to go. Please bear with me. All I know is that these two people, WMATA Metrorail employees, MUST be recognized. They are the epitome of “life is all about what you have done for other people.”
Let me preface this whole thing by sharing that I use the DC-area Metrorail service on a near daily basis. It’s the true definition of a love-hate relationship. Having moved to the area four months ago, but having lived in the are off-and-on my entire life, Metro has a funky place in my heart. I love the (usual) quickness that it can jet you around, underneath the city. In the middle of rush hour, it is way, WAY faster than using a car.
Now that I both live and work walking distance from Metro stations, I find it to be the best mode of transportation for me, even considering the delays and malfunctions that the system is often plagued with. Social media accounts like Unsuck DC Metro and DC Metro Sucks highlight that – and yes, it’s how I keep up with delays on the system that I use so often. [pullquote]But, the point is: I rely on it, and it does a pretty solid job…[/pullquote] But, the point is: I rely on it, and it does a pretty solid job considering how many people and how many hundreds of miles of tracks they have, and the numerous employees they have. That’s the focus of this post: those employees.
In my experience, Metro employees have not always been the friendliest. I’ll be honest – since I’ve been riding more often, I’ve found more and more of the friendly employees; quite frankly, I choose to focus on the nicer ones. The only other time that my 1 new person was a Metro employee was when I happened to sit right next to the operator’s car (always the car furthest in the direction that the train is traveling in). She knocked on the window after we took off and say “you know, every time someone sits in that seat, I can smell them. Good or bad. And sir, you smell GOOD!” I had actually just showered for the first time in 2 days. And then I put on some Michael Kors cologne. Thanks, mom! :) haha but that lady was so nice, and she even waved goodbye after I reached my destination!
Anyways, the 2 main stories I want to tell you are both from last night. I attended an event for my alumni association and went out afterward with a few colleagues who helped put on the event. After debriefing the event and watching the conclusion of Game 1 of this year’s NBA Finals, I was on my way home much later than I should have been – after all, it was a work night!
I approach the Ballston-Marymount University metro stop, as I aim to take the orange line to get home. This particular station is unique because it has FOUR elevators…FOUR, just to get to down to the mezzanine from the street; two on each side of the street. I approach the first pair of elevators, and press the button. For some reason it would not light up. On Metro, though, that doesn’t mean the elevator’s not coming. It means the bulb might just be out this week. So, I wait, I press the button again, I look down the elevator shaft – all no luck. Hmm…maybe these ellies are off. I’ll try the other side. I get to to the other side of the street…
Same thing.
Ruh-roh.
Now, mind you, it’s about 12:10 in the morning at this point. I can usually clock the last outbound train to run at about 12:35 on a weeknight, so I was confused…why were the elevators already off? Fearing that I might just have to catch an Uber, I decide to check one last thing: are the escalators still running into the station? If the station IS actually closed, and I just messed up, then maybe it’s my fault. BUT…the escalators are still running. They wouldn’t still be running if the station is already closed, right? RIGHT?!
Well I can’t get down the escalator on my own, at least not WITH my wheelchair. Luckily there is a large bus stop above the Metrorail station. I look to one of the drivers at the post and ask him, “do you think the station is already closed?” I explain the time schedule that this USUALLY operates on, and he immediately is willing to help. Let’s call this gentleman “Michael.” Michael double checks the elevators and realizes that they do appear to be turned off already. I ask him if he has a way to contact the station manager below us – to see if the trains are even still running at this point, because it’s nearing 12:30. He says he can call – but we have to go get his cell phone out of the bag – that’s a few feet away at the bus post. Here we go…pysche. We never make it to his bag. Michael looks over as we approach the post and is like “you know…I could just help you down the escalator if you don’t mind.”
I was pretty impressed. Such an…unknown task, for most, is to help someone in a wheelchair down an escalator, or stairs of any kind. I have done this maaaaany times quite frankly because it’s SO much faster. It’s a bit tricky to explain in prose but, when going down an escalator with a wheelchair, I find it easiest to “pop a wheelie,” while the person behind holds on to make sure I don’t go tumbling down. It is very similar to the method I use when going down larger flights of stairs. Michael helps me down the two long escalators, and we encounter the station manager, standing at the bottom. Let’s call her “Ms. David.”
Ms. David promptly lets me know – there are no more trains running. By about 60 seconds, I had just missed the last train going in the direction that I needed. [pullquote]Ms. David promptly lets me know – there are no more trains running. By about 60 seconds, I had just missed the last train…[/pullquote] I then begin to emotionally ask her about the elevators, basically stopping just short of accusing her of turning them off early. I was extremely annoyed because had those elevators not been turned off early, I would not have missed the train. Ms. David begins to explain, VERY nicely, that she is the only station manager working, and that in order to make sure the entire station is vacant of customers, she had to do things in a certain order. This meant turning the elevators off, obviously, before coming to close the gates that lead up to the ground level via the escalators.
Was I annoyed? Yes. Completely. But I also completely understood where she was coming from. My emotion and frustration level immediately began to come down a bit…and I looked at Ms. David, and say, “well…it looks like you shouldn’t be the only station manager working. There should definitely be more than 1.” She looks at me, in a way that says “I completely agree with you.” Although frustrated, I realized that it was not her fault. She, simply, couldn’t be in two place at once. She was just doing her job – and doing it well.
Realizing that this whole situation just…wasn’t going to work…I apologized to Ms. David for kind of blowing up at her, and I look to Michael to help me back up the escalator (yes, he was patient enough to just hang out there during this whole 3-5 minute exchange between Ms. David and I). I retire to having to hail good ol’ Uber. That’s when Ms. David suggests something else.
She explains that she is not just a friendly Metro Station Manager, but also a taxi cab driver. She usually drives a shift with Red Top before coming into work for WMATA. First of all, can we say wow? A woman THAT dedicated to public transportation as a profession – I was impressed. Anyways, she offers to give me a ride home, after she is done closing down for the night. She’d be headed home, but due to the mix up, she was nice enough to offer me a ride.
So, Michael helps me back up the escalator, and we chat for a little bit. In those 5 minutes while we were waiting for Ms. David atop Ballston station, I learned quite a bit about this guy. The main thing I remember was that I had joked with him going down, because I felt very safe while he was holding onto my chair. I look back and say “Wow, you must have had some training doing this before!” In the moment, he just brushed it off and chuckled but, at the end of the night, he actually shared with me the fact that his mother, like me, uses a wheelchair. Fate had it that he is VERY adept and accustomed to navigating the world through the lens of someone that uses wheels to ambulate. From having to throw his mother on his back, to the annoyances of people blocking curb cuts and ramps with their vehicles, to curbs simply being even just an inch higher than they should be – Michael totally understood the struggle.[pullquote]Michael totally understood the struggle.[/pullquote] I think fate had it that we encountered each other – because I absolutely loved learning about his experiences thus far in life in dealing with that challenge with his mother, and being able to bond over it, together, was great.
A few moments later, Ms. David comes up the escalator, and is ready to go. She points out her cab to me, she helps me stow my wheelchair in the trunk, and we are on our way. Disclaimer: yes, I am that taxi passenger that LOVES to talk to his driver, if they are open and willing to conversation, too! I’m happy that Ms. David was. :) As we drive from Arlington to my home, she shared stories about the varying passengers she welcomes into her taxi, and when I asked the most interesting place from which she had passengers? NEW YORK! That answer surprised me for some reason.
She shared stories about being a female taxi driver, placing her faith in God to keep her safe, and how she strongly believes in the fact that everything happens for a reason. And that’s where our night ended. As I got home and she helped me out of the taxi, we completely bonded over the fact that our paths had crossed. I, again, apologized for being a bit forward with her when we first met. She apologized for the confusion, and we were both grateful to share stories with each other. I explained to her how passionately I believe in living a full life, despite my disability, and how much I admire my parents for helping instill such determination in me. That was another thing we bonded over – the importance of determination.
Anywho, I got out of the taxi, and made MANY earnest attempts to pay Ms. David – to no avail. She just wanted to give me a ride. Such a nice lady. At that moment I decided I couldn’t leave without giving her SOMETHING. So even though I had already given both her and Michael cards that said “thanks for being 1 new person I had the chance to meet today,” I also gave Ms. David an Actively Caring wristband. It was number 117316.
For both Ms. David AND Michael, if that’s not going above and beyond the call of duty for another human being in the name of caring and compassion, I don’t know what is. In a situation that otherwise could have been extremely frustrating and inconvenient, these two complete strangers, for a few moments, completely ignored my disability in order to make sure that I got where I needed to go. Especially with strangers, that doesn’t always happen. It just makes me hold onto the fact that there are still great, amazing, service-minded, others-centered folks out there in the world. You just have to give yourself the opportunities to meet them.