Saturday night, a little after midnight, I left Tim's apartment to catch the train back to my neighborhood. Tim lives in the Gold Coast, which is known for it's wealthy habitants and debt-ridden students attending the local law school. I don't hang out in the Gold Coast much, so I'm not all that familiar with it's train stop.
Turning the corner out of Tim's apartment, I walked the 3 blocks to the Clark/Division El Red Line stop. As I headed down into the subway I noted all the preppy, drunk people swarming the city sidewalk. It was as if I had walked into a fraternity/sororiety mixer.
Below ground was an entirely different story.
I slipped my train pass through the turnstyle and kept on singing along to Rilo Kiley, which was playing on my Ipod. Then, I headed on down to the train platform to wait for the next train.
About 3 minutes of waiting for the train, I made the decision to turn my Ipod off so I could be as alert as possible. The platform was filling with a combination of homeless people, drunk men and what appeared to be part of a gang. There was one man who seemed sober and looked "normal" and I quickly walked over near him to stand. In the distance, a man was playing classical music on a worn down violin.
In the 25 minutes I had to wait for the train, the platform became alive with tension. One lady started screaming at the wall, something about it giving her a hard time. Two drunk men began following me around the platform. We did a dance where they moved towards me and I kept circling the "normal" looking guy in order to gain distance from them. Further down, on the bench, the gang members started getting restless and were shoving each other around.
I just stared at my shoes, noting all the sounds I heard. I had my right arm slung through my bag and my left hand securing the strap to my shoulder. This is probably the only time I have ever thought to myself "Hell no, I'm not pulling my digital camera out to photograph this".
The violin player was amazing and if it weren't for his classical music I believe that the platform could have taken a turn for the violent. But his beautiful music kept some people quiet while holding the attention of others. I was so thankful he was there.
So finally the overly-packed train pulled up and many people waiting on the platform appeared to have decided that no one would be able to fit. I, on the other hand, would be damned if i was going to wait for the next train. I literally shoved a man further into the train and stepped into the crowd, forcing my body through the doors (while everyone on the train cursed me above their breath).
I rode the train to the Belmont stop, where I was supposed to switch over to the Brown Line for a short ride to my block. But after I stepped off the Red Line and began waiting for the Brown Line, something in my gut said "Get Home. Now." I've never had that feeling before so I decided it was something to listen to. I ran down the platform stairs onto the city street and hailed the first cab I saw. I have never felt more relieved to be dropped off at my front door.
I have told my friends about this and I guess they knew that the Clark/Division stop is a sketchy stop. Lesson learned: the next time I leave Tim's, I will skip the classical music concert and just pay for a cab.
