Embrace the Weirdness of the MBTA!

Keytar Bear

"I am weird, you are weird. Everyone in this world is weird." - Dr. Seuss

Why on Earth would the humble riders of the MBTA willingly embrace the weird sights, experiences and interactions that come with being a passenger on the system? Aren't these sorts of visceral sensory experiences repugnant to the buttoned-down Bostonians taking trains and buses? The answer to this last question: No... A resounding NO! Despite having a reputation in some circles for being a stuffy urban metropolis, Bostonians have, in many instances, embraced weirdness. We embrace our weird public transit experiences because it is part of who we are culturally. Not convinced? Here is some concrete evidence that Boston likes it weird.

Weird Things Become Part of Boston Lore

Riders of the  MBTA's #1 Bus may be Boston's foremost sympathizers with canned sardines. When I was a Back Bay resident with Central Square sensibilities, I often opted to take the scenic walk over the Mass Ave. Bridge to get to my favorite Cambridge watering holes rather squeeze onto the overcrowded bus (Authors note: I'll call it the Harvard Bridge when Harvard inevitably extends its property all the way to the Charles River). Pedestrians crossing the bridge are treated to a trek measured in "Smoots." In 1958, Oliver Smoot, a pledge to the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at MIT, was measured head-to-toe from one end of the Mass Ave Bridge to the other. Hash marks were spray-painted onto the bridge's east sidewalk at intervals of 10 Smoots. The Smoot Bridge quickly became part of local lore and MIT fraters have re-painted the hash marks annually. Bostonians have the weird geniuses from just across the river to thank for this weird unit of measurement.

Bostonians Love "Weirdos."

Bill "Spaceman" Lee

Bostonians love their sports teams. In the 1970s, a beautiful alchemy of athleticism and weirdness was personified by Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee. Lee, a fan favorite, became well-known for his weird behavior on and off the field. Much of his weirdness was chemically enhanced. Asked at one point about the possibility of mandatory drug testing in baseball, he said, "I believed in drug testing a long time ago. All through the sixties I tested everything." Knowing this, it is not surprising to read stories about Lee, true or not, that should have him elected into the Weirdo Hall of Fame. It is rumored that during one game he was so out of it he called the umpire to the mound, and asked him, "Can you do anything about those trees over in center field?" Lee was more than a circus side show, however, winning nearly 100 games for the Sox between 1969 and 1978.

Bostonians Attend Weird Cultural Events

A pic from the "No Pants Subway Ride" 2015

Whether it is a No Pants Subway Ride on the MBTA, the Santa Speedo Run, or a midnight showing of Rocky Horror, Bostonians love to get weird and love to do it together. Indeed, weirdness is even a theme for events like the Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) which uses the tagline "Keeping Boston Weird since 1999." BUFF is held in late March every year and styles itself "a celebration of the bizarre and insane." For 2017, the festival has been challenged to attract cash sponsorship. Boston weirdos should rally behind the festival's cause and sponsor this annual institution of weirdness by making a kickstarter donation. Red Line to Harvard for the festival... or the 66 bus if you have a few extra hours to kill.

Weirdness Makes Riding the T More Tolerable

There is no shortage of social media accounts dedicated to describing the daily frustrations of being a T rider. We get it and we feel ya'. Standing on a Red Line car stuck between Downtown Crossing and Park Street is the worst, especially when you get into "it would have been faster to just walk" territory. Due to negativity bias, those painfully delayed commutes will always overshadow the run-of the-mill on-time commutes. But sometimes, it is the little nuggets of weirdness that remind us that through all of the drudgery, there is a weird hope at the end of the tunnel (no we're not talking about the Fenway Green Line stop). Sometimes all you need to brighten your day is to see a bear playing a Keytar! So I say, down with drudgery, up with weirdness. And don't just see it, be it. Do your duty as a Bostonian. Take to our subways and buses and trains and be the weirdness!