Hi Yo Silver Line!

So, yesterday, at the end of our wine tour walking-tour-of-wine-stores-so-we-could-mooch-off-the-free-tastings, we were so far out in the South End that we were able to catch a glimpse of something that, up until now, was merely the stuff of legend.

There, in all its glory, was the fabled Silver Line.

We all thought it was an old wives' tale, like Bigfoot, the WMDs, or Michael Jackson. But no. There it was, gleaming in its actuality: a Silver Line Bus, courtesy of the MBTA.

Figuring that this was the best way to get back to downtown Boston, we went to a T-stop to wait for the next bus going inbound. Walking was out of the question -- at the bar after the "wine tour," I ordered and summarily dispatched a 16 oz. double ground Sirloin burger. Later, I was informed that 16 oz. is, in fact, one pound. So walking was as out of the question as a long and healthy life.

But then, when we got to the T-stop, we all saw something that, in all our years in Boston, we'd never thought we'd see, something even rarer than the Silver Line. In fact, if I didn't have this photographic evidence, I would scarcely believe it today. But here it is:


COMPUTER SCREENS THAT TELL YOU WHEN THE NEXT T IS COMING. And, wouldn't you know it, the next shuttle came exactly three minutes after that picture was taken. The prophecy was fulfilled! TECHNOLOGY HAS COME TO TSAVO!

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why they don't have this everywhere. This is one of the reasons I fell madly in love with the D.C. Metro. Outside each station they have screens, telling you when the next train is due. You always know whether you have seven minutes, so you can go ahead and buy that impulse donut, or whether you have one minute, so you better start throwing elbows and taking the steps five at a time to make the damn train.

And, in the city of Boston, nothing. Except this, a new ray of hope. Also, keep in mind that the Silver Line is nothing more than a bus, subject to stop lights and the whims of traffic. So if they can keep the buses running on time, why can't they do this with the trains? Wouldn't it be much simpler? Can we hope for miracles?

So I presented my proposal to our driver on the Silver Line, and she agreed that extending the countdown screens to the trains was a good idea. She told me to go to the T offices and tell them what my idea was and they would listen. Then I asked her how I would get them to listen to me. She said, "Be sure to tell them Large Marge sent ya." And then this happened.

Or maybe that was just the one-pound burger talking.