Another Monday

I rode the MBTA, www.mbta.com, in to work today as I have nearly every workday for the past ten years. Over the decade I've regularly taken the red, orange, green and blue lines, varying by two factors: the location of my cubicle or office; and, the strength of my desire to walk outside. Actually three factors because if someone's gotten sick or peed, I'm also out of there as quickly as possible. And that does happen more often than you'd think.

People complain about the T incessantly and for godsake, there are definite improvements to be made. See www.ace-ej.org and the T Riders Union for more info about the basic upgrades our Boston community organizers are asking for. Today however, I realized something I genuinely appreciate about the T: their automated train announcements. In select stations a gentleman kindly broadcasts a first hint of an impending ride, "Attention Passengers. The train to Alewife is now Approaching." Approximately thirty seconds later, the gentleman airs his second pronouncement, "Attention Passengers. The train to Alewife is now Arriving." And he doesn't have an impenetrable Boston accent. He sounds more like he's from the midWest.

For whatever my internal clock seems to be governed by this announcement such that I almost always hear the first announcement, the Approach, just as I'm passing through the ticket gates, approximately 10 staircases away from the proper train platform. Hence I'm now conditioned to begin running when I hear the gentleman, booking it up or down the stairs with little caution, blasting past tourists who frequent my stop and dazedly stand in front of the rainbow spider T map looking for some way out. Usually I'm at the platform or on the final staircase when The Arrival is announced.

I love these announcements. I love the strong yet personal tone. The use of eloquent title, "Passenger," as if the T ride is some zen trip. We're all Passengers, dig it? This seems so much more appropriate than the equestrian-sounding "Rider," or Governorial "Commuter." And the the precision in alerting passengers as to when the train is Approaching vs. when it is Arriving--I think that's truly a Boston phenom. For the T knows that we Passengers are a extremely astute population requiring this level of specification. Bravo T, Bravo!

1/27/08 First Blog

First step, first word, first friend, first broken arm, first enemy, first brother, first day of school, first sister, first dance, first date, first love, first heartbreak, first death of a friend, first depression, first job, first husband, first house, first child, first time caring for a dying parent, first business, and now

first blog entry.