I took the “El.” And I survived.
posted in Chicago Stuff, Working Moms, Mom Rants |I usually drive to work. It saves me about 20 minutes on my commute, and I don’t have to deal with the public transit system in Chicago known as the “El.” Or, as I call it, “the thing formerly known as the ‘El.’” Because the El is different these days. It’s getting a makeover. More like a gazillion dollars worth of reconstruction, but a makeover nonetheless. Many of us in Chicago have been dismayed by the El’s recent ongoing transformation. Not only don’t the stations look as pretty, but the service and quality have been tremendously diminished. There’s even a whole blog dedicated to the topic.
Which is why it is strange that I voluntarily chose to ride the “El” to work last Thursday. It was a nice day out, and I had to stay downtown for an event after work and really didn’t want to deal with car-hopping from location to location in downtown Chicago. So I put on my tennis shoes and headed out for my commute.
And it wasn’t that bad.
I thought for sure I would witness many levels of elbow-slinging and seat-stealing by riding the train at the height of morning rush hour. But after I switched from the Brown to the Red line at Belmont, I actually got a seat.
To my surprise, an empty-ish El car.
And no man tried to take it before me. I’ve written before that the El is not a chivalrous place. And my other pregnant friends can vouch for this. Tales of bumping and terrorizing pregnant women on the train abound. But on my El ride I encountered none of this.
(I am going to regret writing this, deep breath). My El ride was actually pleasant enough that even though it takes me longer to get to work I may ditch my car once in awhile and take the train to work. Especially if I get to see a sunset like this on my ride home.
So what if the river is dirty and cold?
That’s just something you can’t see while driving.
Tags: the+El, CTA, subway, commuting+to+work, working+mom
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