July 10, 2004
Rate me, my friend
From my new favorite webzine, The Black Table, the city and the season gets a letter grade:
SUMMERING IN D.C.: Perhaps you've said to yourself, while in the fading twilight of your 20s and seeking a sad professional degree of last resort (read: law school), surely it can't be THAT awful to work in our nation's capital for a mere summer. A spot of advice: Think again. While staggering humidity, a beer-guzzling fraternity culture and a wholesale lack of style might seem cheerfully surmountable obstacles in the full flush of youth, the playground of Banana Republic-clad Senate aides fast loses its charm at the dawn of one's crotchety, asthmatic 30s. Sure, the city can boast air-conditioned subway platforms and ... actually that's about all. In fact, not since the days of Mussolini has a train system been so emblematic of cultural achievement. Serves me right for not having gone to medical school, I suppose. D+ -- Rachel N.
Oh, I wouldn't go that far. The air conditioning isn't that great unless you're directly under the vents, and the two-car trains and higher fares may leave us looking for a different pinnacle of cultural achievement. I nominate the collected work of this guy.
Posted by rj3 at July 10, 2004 7:47 PM
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Comments
I dunno about those trains... a weekend spent waiting around in the NYC subway, running down the stairs only to learn that we couldn't get there from here and needed to walk down 10 more blocks, and seeing what a system looks like when passengers are practically encouraged to eat and drink on the trains and in the stations (vending stands, on the platforms) gave me a renewed appreciation for our quiet, orderly and cool little system.
Posted by: Amanda at July 12, 2004 10:24 AM
I loved our Metro system when I lived close to a stop! Man, it was always clean, trains were punctual more often than not, there was air conditioning, and you could get (almost) anywhere! My only complaint was the early closing, so I still had to take a cab home when I worked a night shift.
And, um, "a wholesale lack of style?" This girl's obviously just not going to the right places. We don't all wear navy blue buttoned up to our necks.
Posted by: jenn at July 14, 2004 2:01 AM