On the evening of this past Christmas, an MBTA dispatcher was working the lonely, Christmas-day evening shift when an idea for an amusing joke occurred to them. This clever dispatcher programmed the announcement PA at Park Street to sing "Deck the Halls." The PA continued to announce train arrivals, lest no one miss out on finding out that a train was now approaching. But in addition, the dispatcher had the amusing idea to add in "Deck the Halls", complete with the Fa-La-La-La etc., which is pretty outright funny when you consider it's being read by a robotic text-to-voice program. See the video at: http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/12/mbta-prank-delights-riders-gets-dispatcher-hot-water/YVxBd9RTslE1l7SbunOdnO/index.html.

So, in the wake of the calamitous event that some harmless humor was actually played out on the boards, providing a bit of cheer for those patrons taking the train on Christmas evening, this dispatcher faces written warning, suspension, or termination. As SNL might put it: Really, MBTA? Sure, we like our untrammelled train announcements, but we love the dispatcher's humor just as much. Give him or her a holiday gift, and let it go this once.