Here Comes Choo-Choo Charlie

As you know I am a fiercely proud Bostonian! And I was looking for a T-station name for my 3rd response to a post on Mr. Ovejas' blog when I saw that the T, Boston's "Metro" (though the T is the first subway in America!), is finally going to a more advanced system than the tokens we have used for fares for years! Boston being Boston (and having to be different) we can't just call the new cards by any ordinary name (the monthly or weekly passes have always been known as T-passes, but that is too boring). So they new system uses 'Charlie Cards' - I thought this was a lil cheesy at first but now I think it is very cool after reading more about it. Adds that Boston character to something as mundane as riding the subway (well a ride on the T is anything but mundane actually - if you take the red line between Harvard SQ & Central Sq - you'll understand!). Learn more about Charlie:

Charlie is a fictional character who first showed up in Boston in 1948 as a campaign song for a political candidate. This song was later recorded and made famous by the Kingston Trio.

The song tells the story of "Charlie" who put ten cents in his pocket "kissed his wife and family and went to ride the MTA." Unfortunately for Charlie, he needed another nickel in order to get off the train. He didn't have it, so he continued to ride the train. Until now. In September, the public was invited to offer ideas for a smart card name. A large number of customers suggested CharlieCard. The naming of the card recognizes Charlie's place in Boston's transit history.

Call me silly or nostalgic but I think this is neat! I grew up riding the t since I didn't have a car or even insurance on my parents' car. As my friend Ernie used to say "If the T don't go there - I don't go there!" and that was very true. It forced me to get creative & to this day I am still very adept at getting pretty much anywhere in Boston by foot or T!