MBTA woes

In elementary school choir, we learned the song 'Charlie on the MTA,' which was written more than 50 years ago. It chronicles the frustration of a man who gets on to a Boston trolley and can't get off because he can't pay the exit fare. Everyday, his wife hands him a sandwich through the window of the car.

It's amazing that in 50 years, the only thing that has changed about Boston public transportation is the addition of a 'B' to 'MTA,' and the 'B' stands for 'Bad.' We were headed home after getting a couple of beers last night, and were going to walk, since they had shuttle buses running for half the route anyhow. However, just as we were crossing the street, a train came up, so we decided to catch it. The woman opened the door for the guy in front of us, then abruptly shut it and would not let us on. I could see if she had to go, but she was sitting at a red light, and was for at least another minute. When we tapped on the door, she blew her horn. There was no logical reason for her not to give us a ride: we were not drunk, disruly, beligerent or otherwise threatening, though that has never stopped anyone from riding before. I know that being a Green line T driver is one of the worst jobs in Boston, but she was mean just for the sake of mean.

A stark contrast to the friendly bus driver who greeted me in Seattle with a hearty 'Hello, where are you coming from?' and a friendly, 'enjoy your stay!' when I got off.