I was somewhat horrified this evening to see a Metro train pulling into the Woodley Park station, its entire exterior “wrapped” in a floor-to-ceiling advertisement for McDonald’s Fruit and Walnut Salad. Call this a bit of Washingtoniana that I didn’t realize was sacred until someone messed with it—it doesn’t rise to the level of the Washington Monument (no pun intended), but the brown exterior is as much a part of the DC experience as the Metro’s hexagonal tiles and Das Blinken Lights to tell us a train is coming.

So WMATA, hands off the trains. I know you’re hurting for cash and the Congress isn’t helping, but you’re the stewards of something important here. So I’m instituting a personal boycott on any company who advertises in this fashion. It’s not like I’m a regular Big Mac person, but this means I’ll be ending my three burrito-a-week habit at Chipotle for a while.

(Photo adapted from Wikipedia entry.)