Holiday Commute Observations

This was taken at 8:15 AM on the Friday before Christmas,  on any other Friday morning at 8:15 AM, half of the car would be full, sometimes 80% of the car is full at this station (the end of the line station near my condo.) We moved up the line a couple of stations and held in a station with the doors open.  The train operator announced that we would be holding because of a "sick passenger" on a train several stops ahead.  We held, and held, and held, about 20 minutes overall.  The guy sitting across from me was melting down, shouting into his phone about how Metro was screwing up his day.  All I could think was, "we are having a better day than the person being taken off a train by paramedics up ahead."   

And yet, I know my view of the world is not perfect.  That morning as I stepped out my door and walked to the elevator, I saw a very-large black man coming from the other end of the hallway.  I will admit that my initial thought, was who is he, and what is he doing here, am I safe? We met at the elevator and rode down together.  He introduced himself as Derick.  His wife has owned the condo for over a decade, they have been married 8 years.  He said, "I always try to introduce myself, people see this huge brown guy and wonder what I am doing here."  I am ashamed to admit, he is right.  I need to work on that perception of people. 

Is your "commute" impacted by the holiday season?