BOSTON — They call the L the "T" here, and, punster that I am, my first thought was that both cities should join forces with someplace calling its train line the "B" and form a sandwich.
Sorry. But I'm in a good mood, almost giddy, having navigated a challenging journey via public transportation from Boston Logan Airport to Boxborough, a suburb about 30 miles away. Densely forested, it makes Northbrook look like the moon.
"Don't be cheap," my wife advised, urging me to take an Uber, which would cost $72, and take 90 minutes in nightmarish Boston traffic. The T costs $2.40, for starters, though unlike Chicago famously it charges more depending on how far you go. The Kingston Trio wrote a song about it.
So, the train. But how? At first, Google Maps balked.
"Sorry, we could not calculate transit directions from Boston Logan International Airport to ..." and here it gave the address of the cousin I'm visiting.
Undeterred, I did that thinking trick machines still haven't mastered, studying a map of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system. OK, I couldn't get directly to Boxborough. But the Fitchburg line stops at South Acton. Four miles from my goal. That would do.
Yes, I'd have to take a bus, three trains and an Uber for that last leg. But heck, I wasn't in a rush. The purpose of my visit was to hang with my cousin, who's fighting kidney disease. He could use some company, though a fellow really must be in a bad way if he is expecting me to cheer him up. That's like throwing your kid's birthday party at the Holocaust Museum.
Taking the T was worth it just to realize the powers that be in Boston, despite representing a metropolis founded in 1630, couldn't manage to run the train all the way to the airport. It stops 1,000 yards away. In Boston's defense, Mayor Michelle Wu makes a habit of joining Bostonians on their daily commutes to see for herself what's happening. Can't imagine Brandon Johnson doing that. He's studying the inside of the basket he's hiding under.
I got off the plane, jammed onto the Silver Line 1 bus, and was on my way. Ten minutes later, we were at the Blue Line.
"Which direction to the Old State House?" I asked a guy on the platform. Of course the other side, and the train was now arriving. I bolted up the stairs across the tracks and just made an incoming train.
See, that's the great thing about public transportation. I was in no rush whatsoever, provided I arrived in time to drive my cousin to dialysis the next afternoon. But suddenly I'm Ethan Hunt racing against the clock through exotic train stations.
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Even though I don't take mass transit anywhere, this column still made me chuckle. Thanks for your writings EGD! Judy
ReplyDeleteTake the BART.
ReplyDeleteThree trains? What a journey! I've recently taken to commuting on Metra and have really enjoyed it--despite the lack of caviar and murder mysteries.
ReplyDeleteThe Kingston Trio SANG the song about the MTA but didn't write it.
ReplyDeleteI know of no mass produced songs that are fully sung before really written.
DeleteM.T.A.", often called "The MTA Song", is a 1949 song by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes. Known informally as "Charlie on the MTA", the song's lyrics tell an absurd tale of a man named Charlie, trapped on Boston's subway system, which was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).
DeleteThe song was originally recorded as a mayoral campaign song for Progressive Party candidate Walter A. O'Brien. A version of the song with the candidate's name changed to George (because of Walter's leftist politics) became a 1959 hit when recorded and released by The Kingston Trio.,
The song has become so entrenched in Boston lore that the Boston-area transit authority named its electronic card-based fare collection system the "Charlie Card" as a tribute to this song.
The transit organization, now called the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), held a dedication ceremony for the card system in 2004 which featured a performance of the song by the Kingston Trio, attended by then-governor Mitt Romney.[Wikipedia]
What idjit thought three across seating was a good idea? Who do they think they are, Spirit Airlines?
ReplyDeleteI just spent a month in the Czech Republic, only taking trains, buses, trams, and subway. Your line "Undeterred, I did that thinking trick machines still haven't mastered, studying a map of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system" jumped out at me. As a challenge, I only used the paper maps of the transit system. Did I mess up at times--sure! But with transit you can get back on and return the way you came. I learned the system far faster than using my phone.
ReplyDelete