When I get to the train platform, it's already full. No train for awhile, I think. And when one does come, I will wait for the next. I wander off to look at the river and the November trees. Time passes. I sit and start reading. An announcement blares out across the crowd, derailed train farther up the single-track line. Trains will be delayed. I close my Kindle, pack up my kit and stand. No one else is moving. The crowd stands, many lost in their phones or newspapers, some looking anxiously down the empty track. Very few, 4 of about 50 people, get up and cross the tracks. The waiting ones watch. We walk away from the platform, past the church and three blocks to the other train line, which is running normally. I get to work only 10 minutes later than usual.

This kind of behavior never ceases to amaze me. What the hell would these people do in an emergency? Probably sit patiently and wait for someone to save them. In case of a zombie apocalypse, I will have a really good head start. I may not run fast, but I think!