Summertime, and the Commuting Is Easy

Is there any sweeter feeling than speeding down the turnpike in the 502 Express bus while your BlackBerry buzzes with T alerts bringing news of delays on the Red Line? Is there any happier morning than when you’ve got a 10 am appointment and you get into town at 9 and have time to sit at the bagel store and sip an iced coffee while watching the world rush by?

That is, essentially, today's report. My work life--and commute--does not get any better. I had a meeting in the Back Bay at 10. I started out quite early at the Watertown gym at about 6:15. Took my time getting ready, and bought an iced coffee on my way out of there, just in case. I never dreamed I'd be in town so early, but that 502 was bookin' it, baby. I was reading an old NYTimes magazine I had in my bag (the Globe delivery was not early enough today, alas), when the BlackBerry started buzzing with the news of those poor fools on the RL.

Of course, it helped that today was a gorgeous New England summer day, with brilliant sunshine and cool breezes. Had it been raining, it would have been a different story altogether, because rain in Boston brings utter gridlock and mayhem in the streets. The bus probably would have been sitting for hours. And the people riding the RL would have been laughing their asses off at the pitiful souls on the "Express" bus.

But I digress. Luck was with me today. And it's all about living in the moment and appreciating the good things in life. Yes, indeed.

The only downside--okay, one of the few downsides--was that, on my way to the office (near South Station), I encountered the strange person I mentioned in a previous post. I've decided she is for sure a woman. With a large backpack. Who shifts around and talks to herself. Who acts, in fact, very much the way I imagine a suicide bomber would act. She was with me at Copley (Green Line), then transferred, as I did, to the Red Line at Park.

But I hardly cared. I let one Green Line train go by, because it was too full, and I saw there was another train coming. Then I helped two ladies from Australia who were trying to get to the MFA. And it always makes you feel better to help someone, just a little bit, right?

Multitasking Nation

A few weeks ago, on my way home from work, I sat across from a young couple who appeared to be on their way to a Red Sox game. They had the hats on and the shirts. The young woman was drinking a Pepsi or a Coke, I don't remember the specific brand of drink. Anyway, the point is, she was so not into her date. I mean, it was obvious, even to a casual observer sitting reading the paper after a long day at the office.

She sat down next to a worker bee kind of guy. He was wearing jeans and a plain shirt, and he had a kind of canvas bag with him--clearly also on his way home after the workday. The girl was looking around, doing everything possible to avoid looking her date in the eye, and she dumped her Coke on this poor schmoe sitting next to her. Yes, he was wearing jeans. It's not like he had on a $500 suit, but still--I felt bad for the guy. She apologized and all, but what could she do? He had wet jeans, and she had an empty can. More Coke would be had at the ballpark, no doubt, and I guess he'd have a washing machine at home. But I remember thinking: Glad she didn't park herself next to me.

This is what I thought of last Thursday morning when, on a fairly crowded T day, a young woman sat next to me with a travel mug (which I assumed contained coffee). Yes, those mugs are sort of "spill proof," but she was not only sipping coffee, she was also fiddling with her ipod and reading a book.

That's when it occurred to me that this is what life has become for the average commuter--or possibly the average worker. Our free time is so precious, our private moments so rare, that we have to squeeze everything in. She was going to make the most of her ride. I, on the other hand, was wearing light-colored pants, and more than once I glanced away from my own newspaper to check the status of the cup.