As the bus pulls away from a stop, a man begins to run down the street after it. This is no uncommon scene. However, when he catches the bus, he does not make any attempt to stop it. Instead he waves to a woman sitting near the rear exit. When she waves back, he stops running.
27 September 2010
Green line, Government Center Station:
A group of adolescents try to push their way onto an already full train. The first of about a dozen stops in front of a stroller that the rest don't see. Laughing, they start to push him forward. He objects, quietly at first, then a little louder, and finally with an outburst.
"Guys! ******! There's a ****** baby up here!"
Suddenly the mood of the horde changes. They quietly file past the mother and her child, looking at their feet. Only after they are well installed and are no longer endangering infants does their idiotic behavior resume.
26 September 2010
Red line, inbound:
The couple next to me discusses the future of a bag of sunflower seeds. Perhaps they should leave it behind. Or maybe he should hold it until they get there. Put it in this bag. Each possible solution was shot down, one by one, until he finally came up with the winning idea.
"I know, I'll wrap it in my shirt until we get outside."
He removes his shirt, wraps the bag of seeds in it, puts the bundle in a brown paper bag, and stows it under his seat. Contented, his partner offers no more resistance; this is apparently what she was searching for but could not verbalize. They ride in relative silence (and partial nudity) until I exit the train.
25 September 2010
Green line, inbound:
A very well-built man boards the train, takes an iron grip on one of the rails and spends perhaps five minutes examining the muscles in his arm. He flexes his bicep and admires it with no apparent shame. Now he is flexing each one of his fingers and studying the movement of the tendons up his arm for the movement of each one. Yet, while his interest may seem to be slightly scientific, his facial expressions reveal that his own physique impresses him very much.
23 September 2010
#66 Bus, inbound:
Today the 66 approaches an intersection and makes an unprotected left turn in the face of on-coming traffic. The "Boston Drivers" for all their fabled impatience slow down dutifully; not one of them touching their horns. This is something that happens every single day at most intersections in Boston. Everyone knows that commuter buses have eternal right-of-way.
22 September 2010
#57 bus, inbound:
I push my way through the clot of passengers who insist upon standing less than three feet from the entrance. As I do, I overhear two high school students talking.
"The next person who pushes past me, I'm gonna like [he makes a swiping motion with his elbow at face level], I swear."
"Ha! Yeah, seriously."
Three stops later, they both give up the seats they had found to the elderly couple who had just gotten on the bus. They smile politely at the thanks they receive and go back to standing in the front.
20 September 2010
Red line, Park Street Station:
When the doors open, the car I'm boarding is totally empty. I sit in the far corner on a bank of three seats with their backs to the window which face another bank of three seats across the aisle. The first occupant of the seats across from me is a single girl who sits down opposite me in the corner. Momentarily, a couple each carrying a backpack and a suitcase occupy the other two seats. They shuffle around, trying to arrange their luggage without losing anything, and end up inadvertently jostling their neighbor several times. With a huff, the first girl gets up and stomps off to the other side of the train. The girl with the suitcase looks at her, shocked, then looks at me. We break into smiles and chuckle silently across the aisle at the impatience of the recently departed. The next stop is mine. With a nod to my new friend I leave the train.
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