Subway coincidences

I was sitting on the train last week reading a paper about the Rwandan genocide and the movie Hotel Rwanda. It was a critical analysis of the movie's portrayal of the genocide. These are real life events and real people and the point of the paper was to discuss how well the movie depicted those events. They paid particular attention to the stereotypes often relied upon to explain conflict in Africa. It is a very interesting paper, especially for someone like me who had not seen the movie and admittedly knew little about the specific event.

The woman next to me was reading a book. I wasn't really paying attention to her because this paper was really well written, a breath of fresh air after spending most days grading undergraduate essays. At some point, however, I looked over and glanced at the book she was reading. The left page header said "Rusesabagina". I blinked, looked back at the paper in my hand. There was that name. I asked her if I could see the book cover. She showed me and explained that it was written by the guy from the movie Hotel Rwanda. I told her that I was reading a paper on the movie. We both chuckled at the coincidence. Shortly, we arrived at my stop. I got off and I suspect she got back to her reading.

Another little connection made on the T in Boston.

Subway riders taking things into their own hands

It was reported today that Red Line riders who were trapped on the Longfellow Bridge forced open the doors of their car, climbed out, and went on with their day. While there are legitimate safety concerns here, can you really blame them?

First of all, you never know how long you might be stuck on the train in between stations. I remember once being stuck on the Orange Line because some kids were playing on the tracks. We waited for a good half hour before the MBTA police managed to get them off and make sure there was no one else there. I was on my way to the supermarket at Jackson Square and would have definitely taken the opportunity to walk, given that we were only a few yards from the station. I would have been really upset if I had been on my way home from the grocery store.

Given the recent bridge tragedy in Minnesota and recent reports that the Longfellow Bridge is in serious need of immediate repair or replacement, you can understand if people are not feeling up to being trapped in a subway car.

And besides, the weather was nice. It was a good day for a walk.