The Comfy Corner

"My time has come!" I finally said to myself as I used my monthly link pass for the last time on May 31. "No more Silver Line drama for me!" The inevitable change from spring to summer meant that I was no longer a slave to the monthly fee to purchase my link pass. I have a bike, the fastest mode of transportation in the Boston area. When I ride the Silver Line I have to leave my house 30 minutes before any appointment just in case if there is traffic or delays. With my bike I breeze past the gridlocked traffic and through red lights and I can get there in 10.

So there I was on June 1, enjoying the summer sun, the breeze flowing through my hair as I pedaled my way up Washington towards Downtown Crossing - no crackheads, no strollers, no creepy men carrying small golden urns, just the sun, the breeze and me. It was a new season and I was a new man. Nothing could possibly get in my way. When suddenly, I heard an abrasive honk behind me. It wasn't the honk of any Honda Civic, it was a deep bellowing honk. It wasn't a chihuahua, it was a great dane. "What could possibly ruin this perfect day?" I said in shock. I turned my head and to my horror I saw the harsh, monstrously tall, flat front of the SL5. Yes, I was being chased by the Silver Line.

Sweat immediately clouded my vision as I pedaled faster. All I had to do was make it to the next T-Stop so that this monster would be forced to stop and admit more passengers. Then, I could gain a lead, possibly turn down another street where there weren't scary buses. I felt like Crash Bandicoot in the level where the giant rolling rock is following him and he has to make it to the checkpoints without getting crushed.

As my heart was pounding and my legs were pumping at gear 7, my mind suddenly flashed back to a time last semester when I was in a similar situation. I was pedaling along completely innocently when I decided to change lanes. I slowly made my way over to the right lane when SMACK! HONNNKKK! I had actually ran into a Silver Line! Confused, scared, and embarrassed, I pedaled back into the left lane and turned down a different street just to escape the situation.

That's when I suddenly realized; Every story good or bad, has its silver lining.