Gong show night on the DC metro

I got to spend a weekend in Washington, DC, visiting friends; it was a wonderfully refreshing break!

I had a bit of an adventure Sunday evening in DC. I went to church in the morning with my friend Lynnea and her sister Karlynn, after which we walked around and looked at some things. Then I headed out by myself on the metro to visit my friend Jackie, but on the way, my phone battery died. After borrowing a phone from a stranger on the metro to call Jackie, I met her at the station and we spent the evening at her house, making and eating food African-style (she is Senegalese), which basically means that we took our time and talked a lot, visiting with her parents and siblings as well. Then it was after 11pm, so Jackie and her sister drove me back to the subway station so I could catch the 11:30 train.

I get my ticket, run down the stairs to the platform, and step up the doors of the train... just as the doors close and the train pulls out of the station. I am left standing alone on the platform in the cold, saying out loud, “You have GOT to be kidding me!” I sit down on a very cold marble bench and wait for the next train. And wait. And wait. Shortly before 12, a train pulls up, everyone gets off, and I get on, settle myself in a seat, and wait for it to leave. A voice comes on the intercom, saying “This train is now out of service. All passengers must exit.” So I exit, sitting down again on the marble bench to wait for the next in-service train.

The train guy comes out and asks me if I’m waiting for a train. I reply, yes.

He tells me, “There are no more trains tonight. I’m the last train, and I’m just the employee train, to bring the metro employees home.”

He asks me where I am going, and then says again that there are no trains going there. I am a little shocked and dismayed. I am cold and tired, my feet hurt, and I’m alone in a strange city. My mind starts racing. My phone doesn’t work. I don’t remember exactly how to get back to Jackie’s house, and it is a long walk. Maybe I could remember if I just started walking. I don’t even know if they’d be awake still...

As I’m fighting to not burst into tears, the train guy goes, “Aw, you look like you’re about to cry!”

(Note to men: telling a woman she looks like she is going to cry is a surefire way to ensure that she will burst into tears.)

I reply, “That’s cause I am about to cry.”

The train guy goes, “What are you going to do?”

Me: “I don’t know.” And I start crying, uncontrollable tears streaming down my face as I try desperately to wipe them away and pretend I’m fine, as I turn towards the exit.

Train guy: “Aw, you’re crying. Girl, why you crying? Aw, girl, don’t cry. Aw, you’re crying!”

Me: “Sorry.”

Train guy: “Well, I’m going towards that stop, and maybe I can drop you off, and they might be able to hold the train for you to bring you the rest of the way on the employee train. Just go talk to that guy over there to see if they’ll let me do that.”

I walk over to a little booth, spewing tears all over the place, and knock on the glass. The guy comes out, a quizzical look on his face. I manage to choke out, “I think I missed the last train.” He goes, “Wait here” and gets on the radio. The train guy is peering at me from the open door of the train, waiting to see if he can give me a ride. Finally the booth guy motions for me to get on the train, and I end up sitting alone in the front car of the empty train, as the train guy (I’ll call him Jim) yells to talk to me from the operator compartment at the front. He finally tells me, “Hey, you can come sit up here with me. We’re not supposed to have people up here, but it’s okay.”

So I sit in the front with Jim and he chats at me, as I try to wipe my eyes and stop the flood of tears that insists on continuing.

Snippets of the conversation:

Jim: “Girl, why you still crying? It’s gonna be okay. We’ll get you home.”

Jim: “If you had had any kind of attitude, I would have left your [butt] right there on the platform, and said, nope, not my problem!”

Me: “Well, I’m glad you didn’t.”

Jim: “You look like someone. I know - it’s Sarah Jessica Parker! You know her? Has anyone ever told you that you look like Sarah Jessica Parker?”

Me: “No, probably because I don’t look like her.”

Jim: “Aw, girl, I couldn’t just leave you there... You was cryin’ like that, and you had this look on your face, with those huge eyes, like Puss-in-Boots. You know Puss-in-Boots? The cartoon? Aw, man, I could’t refuse the Puss-in-Boots look!”

Jim: “Where’s your boyfriend? Why isn’t he here?”

Me: “Well, he’s actually in West Africa at the moment.”

Jim: “What, is he like some kind of bleeding heart or something? Like a.. what’s it called, save the... feed the.. you know, like feed the children?”

Me: “He’s a Christian missionary.”

Jim: “Oh, he’s like a crusader or something. So what, you’re a Christian?”

Me: “Yes.”

Jim: “No, you aren’t. Where’s your Bible? If you’re a Christian, where’s you Bible? I don’t see a Bible.”

Me: “It’s in my purse.”

Jim: “No way, it’s not!”

Me: “Yes, it is. See?” I pull out my Bible, which I do ironically have with me, since we went to church that morning.

Jim, looking at my purse-sized Bible, says dismissively, “Oh, well, that’s just a baby Bible.”

Every time we drove by a person on a platform, or an employee, Jim would say, “Duck your head! Duck your head” and I’d have to duck down until we were past, because I was supposed to be sitting in the train car, not the operator compartment.

Jim dropped me off at another station, where another metro employee walked me to the train that they were holding for me. That train brought me to another train, which they also held for me. And that train brought me to my stop by 1:00am.

I walked back to Lynnea’s house (bursting out into chuckles every time I thought of the entire situation), where she and Karlynn were a little concerned about me and relieved that I made it back. I went to bed laughing and woke up laughing.

It was a bit of a gong show of a night.

One thing that I found kind of cool (even in the midst of the tears) was how God provided with perfect timing, bringing the right people into my path at the right times. I had a strong sense that he brought me into contact with Jim at that time for his own reasons, even though I don’t fully know how he is working in Jim’s life or what the outcome will be. God orchestrates all things for his glory and the good of his children, providing his presence each moment. It’s amazing to be following a Lord who walks with us so closely, a Father who knows and loves and provides for his children so richly.