"Can't Wait to Touch the Bed..."

The commute last night was very difficult.

Jess worked in Newton and took the train over to my office here to wait for an hour with me. Because I am losing a day's pay again due to a holiday (there are pros and cons to being a contractor...) I didn't want to leave early and lose another hour. I also canceled my physical therapy (probably a mistake) again to avoid losing 2 hours of pay there ...

My knee was really hurting so we opted to take the Silver Line from Courthouse station over to South Station to begin the T ride home.

I have a lot to say about how stupid Courthouse Station is... but that's for an entry some other day.

We got to South Station and it was extraordinarily crowded. Down on the platform eventually there came an announcement that a train was disabled two stations south of where we were, and "moderate delays" were expected.

We'd already missed the 5:15 train since I opted to work a little later. The 5:40 was our goal, but it was looking grim. We opted to walk to Downtown Crossing. Now, on most days I would have just walked all the way to North Station. But this knee situation has ruined me for any decent walks. Jess knew how to get to Downtown Crossing so we hoofed it as fast as I could go. The orange line there was packed as well, people just trying to get from point A to point B. We enjoyed a nice Beatboxer dubbing over himself repeatedly and then kind of singing. First time out of all the street musicians I've seen there be one of those.

The Orange line was exceptionally poky as well as crowded and we got to the station four minutes after our train left.

An hour to kill, no desire to sit at the Paulaner bar and enjoy a beer, we waited. And my knee swelled up. Borderline miserable, we got on the train and headed home.

There was a young man behind us who asked the guy he was sitting with if it would be okay to borrow his cell phone, his was dead. "It's been a really long day and I just have to make sure that my ride is at the station to get me," he told the guy. "I was in Washington DC this morning. Got through Philly, New York, got to Boston and the Red line is broken and I ran up here to catch this train. I can't wait to get home. I can't wait to touch the bed."

 It put a big smile on my face as I thought about that longing that someone has after an exceptionally long travel day by train from DC to Boston... with obstacles like Red line trains dying and cell phones dying... having to run that mile between the stations just to make it on this train, knowing if you didn't the next wasn't for two more hours. And I thought that was kind of a cute sentiment. Oh yes indeed, son... I know I know I know. I can't wait to touch the bed either.

By the time I got home it was bedtime. Ate a quick meal, took some Aleve and got into bed, I touched the bed, with an ice pack on the knee and heating pad on the back of my thigh because my muscles have been doing so much work to compensate for the knee.