On Long and Fruitless Commutes

Yesterday I felt like Odysseus.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus attempts to return home to Greece after the conclusion of the Trojan War. But his journey home is fraught with adventures and detours, and it takes him a decade to reach his home.

Yesterday’s commute was like that.

A southbound train broke down. Another train arrived and took us away, but it was a half-train and crowded. At the subway station, I waited for fifteen minutes for an outbound subway train. Underground, the train moved well, but once it got above ground the speed slowed to a crawl, with the train stopping completely, in the middle of nowhere, on several occasions. The outbound subway trip, which normally takes about twenty minutes, took forty-five once I boarded the train.

Hence, the feelings of being Odysseus. I felt as though I was cursed never again to see my Beetle.

I suspect that the cause is the summer-like weather, with the temperatures flirting with triple digits. The train track can warp in the heat, speeds have to be kept down.

Or, it could be that the Greek pantheon of gods chose to curse my commute.

That’s unlikely, but not impossible. :h2g2:

I’m tempted to drive to work this summer.

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over fifteen years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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