We have all borne witness to our fine city’s “beautification” schemes in these pre-DNC weeks, and despite the jack-hammering, lane-closing and overall roadwork annoyances (how commonplace!), it has been generally tolerable.
But this past week, I have seen one little project that has made my salty Bostonian blood boil.
In the decade that I’ve lived here, the #1 bus stop across from the Virgin MegaStore (headed towards Dudley) has consistently been the stomping ground, leisure lounge and frequent habitation of Boston’s crackheads, drunks and prostitutes. You know what to expect beneath that cracked, chipped and peeling green awning and you say to yourself, I’ll just WALK that extra block to the less-urine-soaked bus stop, no problemo, you guys just sit tight. And you’re totally OK with that.
So it was much to my chagrin whence disembarking my bus in the morning that I saw a whole team of young men in painters’ whites actually painting and cleaning the damn thing! My friends, my fellow Bostonians, WTF???
Are the everyday citizens, passersby, tourists and drunks just NOT GOOD ENOUGH to deserve this sort of beautification on our own? Because you can bet if the busloads of Dems were headed elsewhere, the Mass Ave. drunks, crackheads and prostitutes would not be forced to relocate. (Especially after the Kenmore Square exodus…I miss you Mr. Butch & Mixed Nuts!!!)