Everything about the Haunted Boston tour last night was accessible.  Jeff, our guide, was thoughtful, informative, engaging and entertaining.  He made a point of previewing with us how Marianne could position herself to best hear at each spooky spot on the tour.  After showing ghostly photos to the group, he made sure to show them to Marianne too.  The streets were all accessible and well lit, and every street crossing had ramps and pedestrian lights.  At about 90 minutes and one mile, the tour was just the right length.  There is nearby garage parking with ADA spots, or you can take the T to the group meeting spot at the Park Street Station.

The only fly in the ointment was that Marianne spent the last 20 minutes of the tour looking at a sea of tourists’ backs.  We were the last to pull up, and no one stepped aside so Marianne could get close enough to the front of the crowd to hear.  We assume the story of the Omni Parker House hotel haunting was good and scary, because people were listening intently.

Some people are short because they’re little kids;  others because they’re sitting in a wheelchair.   If short people are in the back of a crowd, they have pretty much no chance of hearing what is going on at the front.

I offer two completely different vignettes for consideration. The other day my sister-in-law posted on FB that now that she is visibly pregnant, other T riders routinely offer her their seat.  I love that!

I also recently offered my T seat someone in need:  a boozy, teetering Red Sox fan who clearly wasn’t going to be able to stand much longer.   My motivation was a rather self-centered one, as I was mostly concerned that the guy was going to fall on me.   But I got a slurry “Hey, Lady, that’s so niiiiiice,” and you know what? It really made me kind of like him, in all of his beer-y wonder, and I smiled.

Yes, Marianne and I could have asked people last night to step aside and make room at the end of the tour.   We chose to stay in the back.  But it would have been really, really nice for us if someone had noticed on their own accord, smiled, stepped aside, and made room at the front.