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Farewell, little token

Michael Burstein bids the T token adieu:

... I will miss the token. I grew up in New York City, not in Boston, but I remember the look and feel of the various subway tokens that the MTA issued as I was growing up. I loved looking at older tokens, ones that were no longer usable, as it was like looking at a piece of history. Somewhere, I've kept a collection of older tokens, both from New York City and Boston, and it saddens me to think that we'll no longer see new designs. ...

Plus, he adds: Tokens just work - e-cards sometimes don't.

Meanwhile, the Transport Avenger is pleasantly shocked to discover CharlieCards actually work well:

... It's great to just tap the card on the sensor. Getting on a bus takes a second, and the gates on the subway open with no delay. ...

Token ed. note: If only my laptop weren't awaiting a new brain, I could try to make a token flag flying at half mast for the top of Universal Hub.

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Comments

When I used to use the subway regularly, I always made sure I had a few spare tokens squirreled away somewhere for those days when I had to choose between, say, going to campus or eating lunch. Lunch usually won out, so the extra tokens came in handy.

When I moved to North Carolina this summer, my work wardrobe changed from "clean laundry pile" to teacher attire (tie, shirt and slacks). That meant digging out my commemorative tie tack from the 1997 Presidential Inauguration (with matching cuff links). Inside the hinged jewelry-store box that I kept them in I found two of those squirreled-away tokens.

These were instant mementos of a time and place gone from my life. Now that they are "out of circulation," they are keepsakes, and my little jewelry box they shall stay.

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A few months ago I made a choker out of one oldschool token and two normal ones (and beads and wire and stuff). It's pretty sweet.

http://1smootshort.blogspot.com

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Yeah, they weren't kidding when they say 'Tap and go'. This new system works really well!

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