Strange Beginnings

While late, as usual, to another day at The Office I was surprised yet somewhat relieved at how flipping cold it was in the middle of June. My car's thermostat read 61or 64 degrees F. I thought nothing of it as I walked to the Metro Station until I was running up the escalator. Once having reached I immediately realized it was going to be a long and cold/windy walk to my designated metro port. (I enter the cars at a certain point everyday to cut back on queues and the amount of pits I have to smell on my way to switch Metro lines. The regular Metro-ees should understand my plight.)

After finally reaching my spot, I bravely took a stab at the thought of standing in one of (what i call) those containment stations. You know the double-ended plexi-glass box that doesn't quite reach the ground? They're kinda funky sometimes but they do a good job of blocking the high winds that flow through the platform or as I often refer to it as the "vent".
So as I get about a foot into the box I notice this lady(about 25+) sitting and BALLING her eyes out on the phone! I slowing stepped back hearing "NO! I'm already at the metro!" and simply leaned on the outside of the box. Remember, my only purpose was to not freeze on the platform. I had to keep warm. I stood there about a foot away from the entrance and thought "DAMN, that must suck what ever it is...i wonder...no. It must be about work she's dressed real nice... maybe an interview??? That sucks she's late!...maybe???" The train was 5 minutes away.

I didn't know it at the time but I was no longer cold and was only preocuppied with the little yelps/sighs coming from theh box. Other people cared less than I about going in or bothering her. She was clearly growing more uncomfortable and feeling foolish for BALLING in public as they piled in. When the train was about a minute away people started to leave and I thought, "OK I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna hug this stranger...if she let's me".

Everyone, save one little lady, having emptied out, I approached her with an uncomfortable feeling (Ricky Bobby talking in the camera for the first time), I crouched down and asked her in a almost a whisper, "Do you want a hug?". She said in between light sobs, "It's so stupid I'm just late for a really important job," and only whimpered a little. I said, "OK" and hugged her anyway. She began to stand as I did so. It was an awkward hug only because she was half standing like "feeling the burn" in some sort of squat. The Hug continued for about 15-30 seconds and then she stood. She followed me to the port and ended up sitting next across from me toward the back of the train. Though she was still Ruby Red, she had obviously calmed down a bit.

I prayed for her through my strange ride. I was reading 2 Kings where some guy name "J" something succeeds another king after killing him and the king's son and later the kings mom, Jezebel. Between processing the hug and one of the "R" rated chapters in the Bible(it was a bit graphic talking about how the men threw her over the wall and how her blood splattered on it as she fell). I was like huh? It was a very strange start to the day.

The lady got up to leave at my stop and said as cheerful as possible, "Thanks alot", and smiled. I allowed her to go well ahead of me in order to minimize the ...dunno sheepish/awkwardness between us now. Once the doors opened, she was off! She scurried to be first in the line to go down stairs to the Blue/Orange line. That was the last I saw of her. I joined the queue to go downstairs quite a while after her, no longer caring that I was late or people's frowzy pits, barely phased that some heifer had just hit me in the boob pretty hard or that some dude had just stepped on my poor foot. Though my face probably conveyed otherwise I was content.

It was indeed a strange beginning ...