Commuter Holiday

The holiday season from Thanksgiving through the end of the year always unhinges the work schedules of the hardcore commuters into DC. This is especially noticeable with members of the Car 5 Gang. The normally stable clan, if you can really call them stable, just is not a cohesive group during this time of the year.

For some people, like Trish, the work schedule changes for an indefinite period of time and are on an earlier or later train. Patrick, moved on to a different job and is essentially gone for good. Extended vacation/holiday work schedules has left Car 5 without Larry and Loud Bob. Jerry is away on some secret mission that we cannot talk about. As for myself, I am there to see the absence of the others. There, that is, until Christmas Eve when I start my own extended absence until the first week of January.

People come and people go, but The Gang abides. At this time of the year we even have a difficult time coordinating pizza and beer days. Someone is in the other is out. Another cannot say and the rest are not in one place in order to firm up the plan. Princess Carly has been there quite regularly and plans to be for most of the remains of the year except for those actual holiday days and maybe a half day before. Loud Bob is off then he is not, so no coordination is happening there. Billy hasn't been seen or heard from for more than a week. We all suppose he is off somewhere with his kids.

George and Mike have been around but not typically on the same days. One day last week, strangers populated our Notorious car leaving only a few available seats. Turns out we only needed three with the Princess and George and myself being the only official members present. With no quorum for member business we adjourned and turned to a bottle of Vodka.

January will bring about a more stable attendance in daily meetings and we will be able to get down to debating once again about the pros and cons of health care reform, global climate change, what that Obama-guy is doing to (or for as the case may be) this great nation, and who had a good performance on those 'talent' shows. The state of commuter rail service performance, infrastructure improvements and stimulus spending will fire up the ire of well seasoned commuters and resurrect desires to write our complaint letters to redress our grievances. But in the end, we board our daily trains and make the commute while leaving our automobiles safely in Garage 1 or 2. Don't get me started about the convergence of egress traffic between the two garages. THAT will be another post altogether.

Just a note. The new north end platform is not far from completion and will be in service soon. There is no telling exactly when they will put up the railing, but inspection and that railing is all that remains to be done before it opens. If the weather moderates, it could be in January. We will have to decide on which "alternate Car 5" we will occupy so as to be close to the walkway to the garages. Car 8 might give us a challenge.

So to the Car 5 Gang, I wish you a happy holiday of your choice – and you are not limited to just one.