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Swarms
of locusts… uh, tourists
From
a County News Online reader
Hi
there,
Yep,
the time of year lots of us dread is almost upon us: the appearance
of those wretched, non-native Tidal Basin bloomers. With them comes
the swarm of locusts, uh tourists, descending on Metro. If only some
of them would heed the suggestions in the article below. Unfortunately,
won’t happen. In addition, the noise level on the
trains will increase substantially as groups of tourists try to
figure out where they are in the system and where Metro Center is. Not
only do the tourists make Metro even less fun to ride, the break
in the track work spoils those of us who live here and use the system
on the other weekends (when the track work’s done). In addition,
Metro will be running eight-car trains, something that doesn’t
always occur at other times of the year.
Will
the tourists from the hinterlands appreciate all of this? Not a
chance. Complainers from out of town abound. I’ll just retreat
into my cone of silence a bit more and try to ignore the whole mess
as I’m riding in and out.
On
the other hand, the only tourists worse are those who insist on
driving to the Tidal Basin and complain about the lack of parking. On a
side note, comedy abounds at places like the Korean War Veterans
Memorial when someone parks illegally (without handicapped
designation), gets a ticket and then wants to debate said ticket with
an officer. Great, cheap comedy. I’ve heard these exchanges, and
they’re quite funny.
Unfortunately,
I saw my first school group (Ack-k-k-k-k) migrating from the Capitol
grounds to the steps behind the Capitol Reflecting Pool for the
obligatory picture. I guess these urchins wouldn’t be so bad if
any of them would realize they’re not the only ones trying to use
the sidewalk. My sympathies lie with those poor tour guides. I
can’t imagine toting uninterested kids around DC. They’re away
from home/parents/school. No matter where they’re from, rural or
urban, they all act the same when they’re here. Oh wait, kids from
the Deep South still seem to be the exception. Chaperones actually
chaperone, and the kids are polite. Not so from school groups from
other parts of the country.
Let
the stampede begin.
Susan
Olling
Darke
County Native
See
the article here
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