Last night I was part of something I usually take care to avoid: a big noisy crowd. No sooner had I got on the Sky Train than Control came on the PA system to announce a medical emergency had caused closures on the line ahead.
The recommendation was immediate and clear. Go back the way you came, transfer to the other line and skirt the problem. I left home at 5 and didn't get downtown until quarter to 7. It was pretty wild.
First we crossed over and went back the other way. When we got to Commercial Broadway, we had to wait with a crush of people on a packed platform. Most of them were wearing Canucks jerseys, and many were following the hockey game on their iphones.
When the Vancouver team scored, the fans chanted as one, like a trained chorus, "Go Canucks, go Canucks!" The train came and we piled on. People kept holding the doors to let in more. With the train underway the chanting began again.
It was uncomfortable being crushed between the wall and a suitcase. But it was also fun to be part of a large, boisterous but friendly crowd, even though that is something I usually make a point of avoiding. It can be liberating to experience something we normally refuse.
When the meeting was over, a colleague said, "Girls, we have to get out of Dodge." We skedaddled before the game was over and got seats on a half empty train. By the time the Canucks won in double overtime, we were already halfway home. Go Canucks!
Good thing, I thought. One boisterous crowd is enough in a day.
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