Tempers, tension in the 'adult day care centre'

ALMOST every day I travel on the Red Line of the Washington Metro, the rapid transit system that connects Montgomery County, Maryland, including my neighbourhood of Chevy Chase, with Washington, DC.

A primary line through downtown Washington and the oldest and busiest line in the system, it forms a long, narrow "U", capped by its two terminal stations, allowing government workers, lawyers, lobbyists and journalists who reside in the leafy and prosperous Maryland suburbs to commute each working day to their offices in downtown Washington.

After boarding the Metro in Friendship Heights and until I reach my destination, I spend around 20 minutes in the subway car with other commuters, most of whom are well-mannered, well-dressed, and judging by their reading material, also well-read.