Thursday, February 11, 2010

Fraud or lack of imagination

OK, so this lady was in a wheelchair rushing to get to an elevator, so she starts running while sitting down... Not even using the wheel ring that most paraplegics would employ... That's right. Running, as in both legs flailing against the ground in an attempt to propel the wheelchair tennant forward, though the central nervous system is obviously not yet trained, because as an outside observer I can tell that the resistance usually experienced by gravity putting a dependable force on all of her, and her legs used to supporting all of her are not getting the feedback loop. Perhaps it's as simple as the Marta station floor being too dusty for good traction... Either way, the efforts of her feet were nearly in vain, the propulsion was slight at best.

As she's riding down the hydraulic powered elevator (a.k.a. slow), I'm walking down the stairs right next to it shaking my head. Not in that "I'm so ashamed to be a human" mode that sometimes creeps up on me while I'm waiting for the train, but in that "I MUST have seen that wrong, because I can't explain it" mode.

Naturally, I'm tempted to wait at the bottom of the elevator and watch further, or ask if this is a psychology experiment, or perhaps do something to mess with her... Stand in her way, take something from her and run away with the hopes tha she'll give chase (on foot), or maybe find some way to accidentally sit in her lap to get some kind of raw reaction... I decide on the first option as it has the least amount of side effects.

She pulls up to a trashcan and starts opening mail... But the way she's tearing into a box is like a well wrapped present from a secret admirer - looking forward to more than just having something, but to peering into the mind of someone else, someone unnamed, trying to decipher who the secret giver is, because presents can tell a lot about the giver. At this point I realize I may be witnessing a federal offense. It is entirely possible that this "lady" has decided the thrill of taking a package from someone's doorstep is much more enticing than, well, not taking it.

As the train going south pulls up, (not mine) she aims for it in the same effortful zero-plegic way and faces a wall. Also odd. All I can think is: "wonder if anybody else saw that"

Marta strikes again.

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