Dear Tourists

Dear Tourists of Washington DC:
I realize that you are on vacation and you don't live here. I just want to point a few things out for you so it may make you time here more enjoyable. If you sit down on the metro (that's the train system here) next to someone who is reading and/or knitting and may also have their headphones on, you should be polite when asking them questions. Simply turning to this person and yelling loudly "Is THIS the TRAIN to FORT Totten?" does not make anyone's day any nicer. Also, while you may think that because this is a city full of politicians and tour group companies that all locals should be nice, after a 12 hour day at work in August, I really really really do not want to talk to you about how my sock knitting is just "the cutest thing" and how my sock knitting must be the only way I survive in such a terrible place! Actually, us locals, ma'am survive much better in the winter when there are less people like you here.
In closing, if you have ever been in a city, walked through a mall, driven or rode in a car in the United States or walked down a street, you know two things. You move on the right side of a travel way and you move to the right to get out of the way of passing traffic. Please take this common sense, which seems to be lost as soon as you enter this city and stay to the right on escalators. It will make everyone's day much better.
Sincerely,
An employed person who lives in DC.