twenty-something

The Metro has hired a young man as their rep, and NOW has employed a middle-aged woman. Neither is particularly attractive, which clearly would make the choice easy, but both are friendly -- with their patrons and with each other -- friendlier than any other paper distributor I've encountered on the T, and that makes the choice harder. I sense a respectful rivalry between the two, and even a bit of workplace friendship, as they are often conversing and smiling. I like to think of them going out for a drink together after work and talking about the work day, but then I realize that their work day probably ends with the morning commute, and the thought of them in a bar with their leftover papers at 10:30a.m. is fairly sad.

Let's pretend they go to Dunkin Donuts together instead. That's better.

So how, how, does one choose their preferred free daily? I've considered taking neither, as I rarely read anything on my Red Line commute from Dorchester when I first moved here simply because there wasn't a person handing them out there, but more recently I picked up the habit. I do like feeling somewhat briefed on current events and mainstream celebrity gossip each morning. Plus, to take nothing when someone is standing there, in a silly vest, offering it up just seems rude. My mama taught me better than that.

Let's examine the papers themselves. Neither has much journalistic credibility, and I say that with a tiny shred of credibility myself (I studied Journalism at URI for exactly one year). Neither has much depth. But low expectations can sometimes breed surprises -- I've been impressed by both paper's coverage of gay rights and gay marriage in particular, and their op-eds are often top notch. BostonNOW is the new kid on the block, and I like their style. They incorporate blogging and blogger's opinions into the issue -- which sometimes seems brilliant and othertimes seems lazy -- which I'm partial to, obviously. But the Metro has a bit more polish and cred, plus it has a staple. NOW is just a pain to fold over without that damn staple.

If not for the human element, I would choose the Metro based on the staple alone -- but people's feelings and livelihoods are on the line here, so it's not a simple choice. My solution? I've resigned myself to alternating papers-pushers each day, unless one, by proximity, is a closer and more obvious choice. I'll read through until Malden Center, or Wellington if the issue is particularly compelling, and then I'll fold it up, place it in my bag for later recycling, and I'll take out my book to read until Downtown Crossing. (Yes, the Orange Line has proved more conducive to subway reading, and I'm almost finished with my first read, Jonathan Ames' perverted, touching, and sometimes brilliant "I Love You More Than You Know.") I'll break one person's heart a day, but the next day I'll make it up to them -- or so goes the thought process of a silly, self-centered, unseasoned commuter who seriously thinks about these things and actually thinks that they matter to these people doing their job.

Today I grabbed a Metro for the second day in a row, mostly because the NOW woman was sitting and out of reach (and, more imporantly, eye contact). I still felt bad, though, and I felt even worse when I saw the headline: City sees 30th murder of '07 (in Dorchester, of course). But then I felt an odd connection to a community, to a city, and the headline made me feel connected to the urban greatness, warts and all, that is Boston, even though I've moved to the semi-suburbs where the paper-pushers are genuinely friendly.

And it made me that much more grateful that I don't live in Dorchester anymore.