5 November

And that, I believe, is what we call KARMA!

I take the commuter rail from the 'burbs into Boston every day. After taking the Red Line for over 2 years, I got fed up with the price of parking ($5 a day) the fact that the Braintree lot was full by 7AM, the traffic on the highway, the amount of gas I was burning through each week, and sucked it up and signed up for a $186 month commuter pass. Then like an asshat sat down and did the math and realized that when I calculated cost of parking and gas the commuter rail would've saved me $3 a month. Ah well, better late than never, right?!

Not that I have anything against the Red Line or the people who ride on it, the commuter rail is a much more pleasant experience. There isn't trash everywhere and the people are a bit more civil, probably because the pass is so expensive. The conductors are nice and make jokes with people and the whole commute is a bit more pleasant. No the riders don't have the hardened edge of the subway-ers, but I let it go. I knew they had no idea how crap the subway commute is in comparison and that their complaints about the commuter rail were absolutely ridiculous, so I could brush it off. THEN the new line started to go into the test phase before opening.

This new line the MBTA is running is on old rail tracks that were operational years ago. The townspeople were very upset about the trains running on them again, but to that I say "suck it UP." This train was going to cut a long drive into Boston to a 30 minute train ride, get cars off the road and hopefully move people efficiently back and forth. The downside for us was that every day it seemed we lost more cars off our train to feed the new line. People were upset because when you pay that much to take the train, you would like to be able to get a seat and not have to ride in the vestibule between cars which besides being freezing cold, is also dangerous. I think enough people complained that we got some cars put back on the train, but they were single-decker cars, and there still weren't enough seats. I've found if you're fast enough (heh) you get a seat. No problem.

Today was a crowded day on the train. I got a seat no problem, sat down and noticed everyone who was behind me got on fine and got a seat no problem, and there were even seats left over for all the people who would be getting on at the last stop before Boston. One guy though, had to raise a fuss. I've noticed him before because his head looks too small for his body. I know that's rude, but there it is. He's aggressive too, and tends to just shove people out of his way when he gets on the train. I'd never heard him speak though. Today he let this gem fly out of his mouth ( will use "effing," but know he used THE WORD. "effing Greenbush line effthem they don't think Old Colony is important anymore I am so sick of this bullsh*t and taking all our cars I mean what the eff we barely have a place to sit Jesus.I am so effing pissed" He kept up this monologue until the conductor came on then he shut his mouth. I cranked my iPod and fell asleep.

We pull up to South Station and everyone gets off the train and trudges into the actual station, where the down escalator is being serviced. Inconvenient? yes. End of the world? Noooo. As I approach the stairs I notice a back up on the right side, so I start to move to the left staircase and here "THEY'RE EFFING STAIRS YOU WALK DOWN THEM EFFING MOOOOVE" Ah, must be my small-headed friend. It is. He's screaming and swearing. There's a woman trying to get down the stairs with a cane. As far as I know, her only option to access the subway end of South Station from the concourse is the escalator or the stairs. So she had to make her way down the stairs with a cane. Not easy. Everyone was respecting the fact that she needed her time and I noticed business men and women waiting patiently as this woman made her way down the stairs. Rude man made such a fuss that one of the businessmen said "do you REALLY need to pass us?" and he goes "yeah I need to effing pass you" "Then go ahead, just go, get out of here" "yeah you effing telling me to go down the effing stairs? Eff you, a*hole, telling me what to effing do" He pounds down the stairs. The businessmen look at each other horrified. One says "what a son of a bitch" the other says "don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him."

'Yeah right,' I thought. 'Stuff never happens to people like that, they just float through life being rude and offensive and ruining everyone's......wai....what have we here?' Small head can't get the turnstile to read his commuter pass. 'Heh heh heh jerkstore,' I say to myself. I look back to see if the businessmen are near and they are, and they smile as the turnstiles read all of our passes and the jerk stands at the turnstile feeding his card over and over. I look back and he jumps the turnstile as someone else exits. A MBTA lady tells him to stop. "OH YOU WANT TO EFFING SEE MY CARD!!" He screams. Oh no he didn't. If I have learned one thing from taking many forms of public transportation every day for the last 3 or so years, it is that you do not "eff" with a T employee. Just don't even do it. Just don't! This is Boston and the MBTA workers simply do not take any sh*t and if you try and give it to them buckle your seatbelt cause you are gonna get it right back.

I pause to watch the scene unfold. "SIR, I don't care WHO you are, YOU do NOT speak to ME like that EVER!" the lady says. She is a large black woman who looks as though she could crush this skinny bastard with her thigh. Ex-cell-ent. The guy, instead of moving on and letting it go, turns back to confront her. Oh WOW. This already has disaster written all over it. "WHO THE EFF do you think YOU are" he screams. This starts a shouting match between them. I decided to leave because the next step for this guy was handcuffs and I didn't want to be there. I heard them screaming all the way down TWO escalators and the guy never caught the subway, so I'm thinking his rage got him into a lot of trouble.

As I stood on the quiet and not so unpleasant platform waiting for the subway I pondered what could be so wrong in someone's life that they feel the need to act that way. My mind start flipping through a Rolodex of possible things that could make a person so angry, so easy to fly off the handle. I was serious for a minute, thinking of the tragic possibilities, til I settled on what the cause HAD to be: Rabies. Clearly rabies.

This made me giggle all the way to Tufts.