Head down, walk fast.

As I walked along the street trying to keep pace with my dad, I contemplated the advice he had offered on the train. “Now I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but when I walk in the city I always look down. If you look down, others assume you don’t see them, so they’ll get out of your way… Just always remember that if you’re ever in a hurry..” Of course, as always, he had imparted this strategy many times before, and I had efficiently stored it away where I would never remember. And as I motored a few paces behind him rushing to get to the office on time, I discovered its efficiency.

But, when I rush to work in Washington, I get the feeling the strategy wouldn’t fly. Unsure of an alternative, I don’t rush. Turns out nobody is rushing, at least not until the subway door begins to close and then it seems like EVERYONE is rushing. Somewhat ironically, no one, no matter the city, wants to wait another 3 minutes on a subway platform when they could be at work 3 minutes earlier. Even when you leave the train it’s a race to the turnstalls, almost as if the smartcard charged based on time spent travelling.

The escalators bring back the lethargy. I find myself the minority as I trapse up each moving step. I’d stand to experience the Washington culture, but I cannot bring myself to submit to the lack of urgency. Urgency of nothing, it turns out, despite the seeming importance of the Hill’s activities…But then again, perhaps this truly ISN’T reality, but some fiendishly expensive knock-off featuring thousands of staffers and interns scurrying around but merely shuffling papers and speaking in hushed voices. Does anything really ever get done anyway? Most times it seems unlikely.

Wall street, on the other hand, now there’s a purpose behind that urgency. Stocks to be traded, and money to be made – A national economic dominance to be asserted. But, what IS the purpose? It seems in the current economic crisis this purpose is lost as well. Turns out, BOTH systems are broken, so why do we hurry, head down, in Manhattan?