Travels on Transit

Daily I try to remind myself of Mr. Rogers theme song, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." Why you may ask? Because I quite often feel suffocated, flabbergasted, amused, amazed and utterly confused by some of the things I witness on the subway every day. Taking public transit to and from work has it's pluses (+) and minuses (-) of course. But some days, it severely slopes negative. Negative in terms of being shoved onto a train, hustled down the stairs, having a back pack skim my face, getting coughed on, sneezed on, spit on etc., being herded like cattle from one train to the next, having someone's body odor stick to my jacket. You know, the sorts of things you think parents teach their kids NOT to do in public. Gross you may say? Well just to make you think, I spared you some of the 'worsts' I've seen, heard, and yes, even smelled.

I'm shocked at what people will say and do while in such close proximity to others.
The best was overhearing an entire fight between a woman and her boyfriend, all about how he didn't pick up the proper laundry detergent the day before. Rude cellphone users irk me. Why do they think the entire train wants to know their business? It only keeps me awake while I'm trying to catch some zzz's.

Or what about the time a girl ran over a gentleman's toes with her metal white shopping trolley and didn't even turn to apologize! The nerve! We caught each others eyes and shared a knowing smirk, Toronto subway users are rude.

So much for Canada being a 'friendly' country. Maybe in Halifax or Calgary, but in this metropolis called Toronto, I've witnessed my share of rudeness.

Maybe tomorrow on the train I'll whistle a little tune, right beside my 'neighbor' who falls sleep on my shoulder.