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June 23, 2009
Today's Obsessions: Train Crash and Back 2 Good
I can't stop following the news about yesterday's Metro train crash. I'm not sure why this news has affected me so much when there are a great many more deaths and destruction elsewhere in the world. I guess it's because I have a personal connection to this news. I rode the Metro a lot when I lived in the DC area. I even rode the Red Line sometimes. I have been on that stretch of track near the Fort Totten station. Plus, I can't help but wonder if someone I know was on one of those trains. (I really hope not!)
It seems likely that more than one thing had to go wrong for this accident to happen--i.e., BOTH a mechanical malfunction and the operator failing to act to stop or slow the train before impact. It reminds me how critical it is to have the right person in the right place at the right time. The value of training, experience, and presence of mind cannot be overestimated. Think of how that pilot managed to avoid disaster by landing a plane in the Hudson. I don't want to point fingers at the dead operator in this case. (Because, really, IF she was somehow at fault, she has already paid enough for her mistake.) Still, I can't help but wonder if things would have gone differently if she had been better trained, or more experienced, or just paying closer attention.
My other obsession today seems completely random and unrelated. It's the song "Back 2 Good." I keep watching the video over and over. I think it's because lately it seems like I am always trying to "get it back to good."
Posted by Selena at June 23, 2009 12:18 PM