Thoughts of the day

I have noticed when riding the T (Boston's public transportation) that people here read a lot. So I began to wonder. Are lots of people here college educated and know the value of continually reading and learning? Some of them are reading school texts which look very intimidating. There is no doubt that there are lots of smart people here. There are so many well-known and prestigious colleges and universities around. Just on my transportation route alone are Harvard and MIT. And we can't go without mentioning Massachusetts General Hospital, also on my transportation route, which is so good that Ted Kennedy goes there and he could afford to go anywhere.

Maybe people just read a lot to escape the doldrums of city life. A lot of people don't own cars here. It is just too expensive to park them in most places and there is also the hassle of even finding a place to park them. The other hassle is the narrow streets. It's not a lot of fun driving around some places in the city.

Finally I decided that people must read on the T because they are bored and it helps pass the time more quickly. I was thinking about all the time I spend on the T and I am literally wasting anywhere from 8 to 10 percent of my day riding around on the T. It's usually a one hour trip-one way. I would read more on the T if I could always have a seat but that usually only happens on the bus part of the trip. It is the first segment on the way into work and the last segment on the way home. On the way into work sometimes I read because I don't really have to pay attention to where to get off. The bus stops at the subway station and that's where I get off and shift into subway mode. On the way home I usually get a seat as well but by that time I'm pretty tired and I really don't feel like reading plus I have to watch for my stop.

I have also noticed that most people like to listen to an I-pod or some sort of music player on the T. It seems to me like a way to tune out the world. It seems like just another way modern electronic means are teaching us to not to socialize. Computers, cell phones, and I-pods are all dragging us away from opportunities to interact with people. What a shame!

Moving on to today's happenings. Today was graduation for Harvard. That made my T ride a little more crowded. According to the bus driver, the bus was running late this morning because of it. Once the bus got full, the bus driver refused to pick up any more passengers. This is the first time I've seen that happen. In the morning the Green line was so packed that I was literally squeezed up against the door. I decided to bail out one stop early so I could escape. It turns out that the stop is the same distance to work as from my usual stop. I may bail out early every time. Today there was also a baseball game at Fenway. Whenever there is a game, the Green line T gets really crowded. It was a crowded trip today coming and going.

I'm starting to miss the wide open spaces of Utah and the quick 10-15 minute drive to work.