Mass Transit and the loneliness of the commuter
I live in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. When I first moved here I had a decision to make. I had no car, and I had to decide to buy one or use mass transit for all of my traveling needs. After weighing the pros and cons carefully, I am glad to say that I decided to choose adventure over convenience. I would like to say my decision to ride the train was borne out of some noble cause, like saving on energy or a personal commitment to saving the planet from global warming. I mean that would sound classy and very politically correct, wouldn’t it? But, if truth be told, my decision was based on selfish reasons. My employer offered a per diem for taking mass transit, a kind of free pass, and by accepting the free pass traveling to and from work each day would cost me nothing, while driving a car to work would cost me gas and a monthly car payment. So I moved to an apartment situated about 1 1/4 miles from a train station, and the next day I...