Metro Misinformed, Part Three: May I Assist You?

Regular Metro riders are all aware of the red emergency button that appears in every Metro car. It's the kind of thing that, as a rider, you hope you never have to press. But what if you hit it on accident?

This very occurance took place about a few weeks ago ago on the red line in the wee hours of morning, as my roommate struggled not to sleep through her entire commute. A man boarded with a little girl, and as he sat down, his head or elbow must have hit the emergency button behind him. That familiar voice came on the line: "Train operator, may I assist you?"

Everyone in that section of the car looked around for the phantom voice. Only the little girl seemed to know where the voice was coming from, and silently eyed the emergency button as the voice repeated, "Train operator, may I assist you?"

Then the man realized what was going on. So he pushed the button again, as the sign after all does say, "Push to talk." The train operator repeated his offer to help as the train ambled along.

Finally, the man responds to the train operator. "No." That's it! That's all he said. Not, "Hey, sorry, I hit the button on accident," or, "Nevermind, just a mistake."

"May I assist you?" came the voice over the speaker again.

"No," the man said as he pressed the button again. This exchange took place several times, and resulted in the man yelling into the speaker as he pressed the button.

Everyone else, as usual, stared.

If you're ever the victim of an emergency while on the Metro, please hope that this guy isn't in the car with you. He doesn't really know what he's doing.

P.S. That's my roommate up there, hiding from the camera at Fort Totten, where we tend to spend a lot of time.