A Generous Fellow Passenger

This week I had what I consider a very unusual T experience. I was on my way home, making my connection to the Orange Line at Sullivan for the short ride to Wellington. There was a train coming into the station that would get me there in plenty of time to catch my final bus leg, which runs only every 20 minutes. There was another train seven minutes behind, which would get me to Wellington too late.

There were a few other people waiting near the front, and I suspected the train would be full, as it often is. I wondered if I'd be able to squeeze on. I try to board at the front of the train, because at Wellington there is only one exit and it's at the front. Sometimes, the seconds saved not having to walk half the length of the platform from a few cars back can make the difference between making the bus and missing the bus.

The train rolled in and a couple of people onboard moved out so a couple of people further inside could make their way out. As I waited, one of the other people waiting moved up next to me and closer to the doors. When the riders rearranged themselves, there was only enough room for one more person, and the person waiting moved into that space. I looked down the side of the train to see if maybe there was still a space at one of the other doors in the first car, resigned to missing my bus.

Then the person who had gotten on stepped back out and looked at me, gesturing to take his space. I was genuinely surprised; in more than 30 years of living here and riding the T, I honestly can't recall that ever happening before. I thanked him and got on the train. And I made my bus home. So thank you, sir, for your gesture of unselfishness.