Third Culture Kid(s)

Speaking of being an annoying advocate for greater accessibility, I’m contemplating forwarding my cell phone bills to WMATA (the local transit authority); it’s really their fault I have to have one at all.

The facts:

1. We own one car. Doing our part for the environment + we can’t afford two cars.
2. As such, I take M. to the train station every morning, and I pick him up there every night.
3. I take M.’s scooter out of the car every morning, and he rides it on in to work.
4. In order for M. to get to the train platform, he must take an elevator.
5. If the elevator is shut down, M. cannot go anywhere.
6. Oh, sure, eventually a shuttle bus shows up. M. is completely at the mercy of the shuttle bus driver from the moment he gets on until he gets off, often at a location of the bus driver’s choosing.
7. Not that the bus drivers are bad people - they’re just part of a bad system.
8. WMATA supposedly lets people know which elevators are out, so they can make plans accordingly.
9. In order to make plans accordingly, while one is in the middle of the commute home, the commuter (M.) must have access to a cell phone.
10. When there is no early indication that the elevator at the end station is out, and he can’t even get down to the street level and has to relocate to another station, the pick-upper (or picker-up - ie: me) must also have a cell phone in order to coordinate the next station to try. Waiting for a shuttle bus can add upwards of an hour - or more - to the commute.

This has happened twice to us, now. Once a few weeks ago, and then again today. Now, M. has class on Wednesday nights and we have to pick him up, get home, and trade off on the car so he can get to class. Since he’s coming from work, it’s often a tight switch. When the elevator goes out (which happens far too much around here; how hard is it, really, to keep elevators operational??? Why can’t there be more than one freaking elevator per station???), it becomes even tighter. If we hadn’t had the cell phones today, there would have been no knowing that there was a hitch.

WMATA owes me.