forceably seen pattern of the day

By the time I reached the bike parking lot near the station, I had less than a minute to catch the special express, and maybe 20 more seconds to catch the regular express, which takes off just after it.

Crosswalk light was green, so I was off to a good start. Despite a lingering cough, I took off at a jog. In front of me, a woman was also jogging. She clearly was moving toward the station, and it looked like she thought she'd make it, so I made myself keep up with her; we ran the length of the block leading up to the station entrance. As we neared the gate, the special express departed. I had maybe 20 seconds left. Clearing the ticket gate with my electronic pass, I watched the departure announcement sign change, meaning the express was about to depart. Now running at a slightly more brisk pace, we both cleared the corner, the escalator leaning upward toward the raised platform, just a little more... Halfway there...

At which point the woman in front of me decided that she wasn't going to make it, and stopped climbing the escalator steps. Stopped, right in the middle, not off to either side. Stopped, so I had to stop too, or shove past her to maintain my speed. Which I didn't, so I slowed, scootched past her slowly, then continued climbing. Just when I crested the top, the train started moving.

I'm pretty sure if the woman hadn't stopped on the escalator, I would have made it. So my perspective, seeing a small pattern writ large, is this: If you're going to fail, if you're going to concede, at least have the decency to do it in a way that doesn't impede others who haven't yet given up.