So I took the green line from Copley to Park this afternoon. They don’t have a Bocca della Verità over on the inbound side, and I didn’t have change, so I queued up to the token booth. Depsite the hassle of not having a pass, I don’t regret foregoing one for February. And I’m not gonna buy one for March, either, since I’ll be in Miami for a week this month. I’ve got a big jar of change I’m just dying to get rid of anyway, and I can either take it to a coinstar machine or use it on the T. I mean, change you’ve collected like that–it’s like free money. I feel like I won the lottery or something.
Anyway, so a train’s coming just as I get to the window. I’m not in a hurry, and even if I were, I refuse to let the sods in the token booth see panic in my eyes. That’s when they know they’ve got you, and they’ll do everything in their power to fuck your shit up. Never let ‘em see ya sweat. T-Zen, baby. Keep those auras balanced. Stay centered.
So I handed her a ten, and asked for two tokens. This is not rocket science. But she gets distracted by a student going through the gate. She’s tapping on the glass and snapping her neck at him. He flashes her his pass. He’s like, fuck off. A crisis is averted. But you know, what’s she gonna do if he doesn’t have a pass? Have a fit? Fall to the floor of her little cage and flail around and start speaking in tongues? Then what? I used to see people squeezing through the turnstiles at Jackson Square all the time. Nobody paid to ride at Jackson Square. People pointed and laughed at you if you did. Including the dude in the token box.
So anyway. She’s all confused now. My ten has disappeared, and she’s tossed two quarters under the glass. And she’s pointing at the quarters and counting out the bills. In a real tizzy. And she does this several times, before finally sliding the correct change (all in ones) under the glass, just in time for the train which has pulled in to pull out of the station.
Note to the T: there are meds for adult ADD. Haven’t you guys seen those Strattera commercials?
