The Long Way Home

Many Boston cab runs involve taking fares to the airport. After dropping, a cabbie is left with three basic options: join the ranks of two to three hundred cabs already waiting in the pool, knowing a typical fare is just enough to cover the expense of the one to one and a half hours of down time- rendering the airport a good place for a nap or visit with friends; quickly return to the city via a tunnel beneath Boston Harbor, incurring a toll of $5.75 for the privilege- a pricey option for any but blow off the doors bar closing type moments of business; or take the long way home through East Boston, Chelsea, and Everett in a five mile loop that re-enters the city proper near the North Station.

This trek requires passage on Beacham St. through the Murray Industrial Park, fuel depots, and the grounds of the Boston Generating Power Plant. While Beacham St. has the distinction of being the worst paved roadway in the commonwealth, according to the Boston Globe earlier this year, a serpentine sluice both on and off its pavement can allow for navigation at twenty mph, and afford cabbies a reprieve from the steel and glass, and red brick and granite venues where our livings are made. Last night's transversal seemed a little smoother still, as nature offered a break in the cloud cover with its Valentine's Day view at twilight.